Clash of the M's
by detectivecaz
Summary: Craig Bond and co have found the Brosnan Bond movies. Thinking they are just movies they disregard them. However, when Q decides to watch one of the Brosnan movies on a new gadget, he is in for a shock when Brosnan Bond and M are transported to his world. When M comes face to face with her counterpart, their troubles are about to begin, as MI6 only has room for one M.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:** A little crazy fic idea that was sparked by a pic of Brosnan Bond's M vs Craig Bond's M, and thus this fic was born.

Possible spoilers for all of DenchM Bond movies.

Usual disclaimers apply :)

_Italics= thoughts_

Hope you enjoy :)

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><p>M was in her office finishing off paper work on the latest damages that Bond had managed to create on his latest mission. M let out an annoyed sigh <em>'I swear Bond just does this to piss me off.'<em>

She looked at the clock she had hanging on her office wall, she let out another sigh and realised she had been doing paperwork for the last five hours. She glanced back down at the folder she had in her hand, and saw that once again Bond had not returned any of the gadgets to Q branch, holding back from punching something or rather someone. She picked up her pen and continued with the task. She was nearly done with the file she was on when her phone started to ring.

"Oh for gods sake!" she threw down her pen and picked up the phone.

"Hello." she said with much restraint as she could, so as not to shout at the person who decided to phone her at this unseemly hour.

"M….it's Q." M thought he sounded quite out of breath and she was praying it had nothing to do with 007 again.

"What is it Q?" He must have sensed that she was losing patience from the tone in her voice, so he hurried on as fast as he could.

"I need you to come down to Q branch, there's something here that I think you should see." He replied to her nervously.

"What an earth can possibly be so important that it can't wait till tomorrow?" M said finally losing her patience.

She had no time for Q's antics anymore than Bond's inability to complete a mission without raking up damages. All she wanted was to go home, have a relaxing bath, and a decent sleep.

Ever since her husband passed away she found herself staying later at the office, so she would not have to face the prospect of an empty house. She shook her head to clear away those thoughts, and noticed that Q had not replied to her question.

"Q, are you still there?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. She could feel the start of a headache coming on. _'This is all I need.'_

"What? Yes, I'm still here. Look could you please just come down to Q branch it will be easier to explain." Q told her in a desperate tone.

M took a few deep breaths to keep her anger in check.

"Fine, and Q it had bloody well better be important." Q did not get a chance to reply as M threw down the receiver cutting him off.

She got up from behind her desk and started to make her way down to Q Branch. When she finally made it to her destination, she saw that she was not the only one that been summoned.

M walked towards where Bond and Q were standing. They both turned around when they heard her approach.

"What the bloody hell is this all about?" M looked straight at Q demanding an explanation.

"And what an earth are you doing here Bond?"

"Ah that would my doing Ma'm."

M turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"Do you remember a while back we found those movies, that seemed to focus on our job, and the characters were similar to all of us?"

M closed her eyes, how could she forget those bloody movies. Who ever made them ought to have been shot. Especially that last one, she had seen better special effects in children's drawings.

"I vaguely recall them, if they have gone missing, good riddance."

Bond gave her a smirk "Come on M, they weren't all that bad. Besides, your counterpart was enthralling, when she walked over from the window and bent over to get the bourbon and glasses, her arse looked amazing, I would be her sexist misogynist dinosaur any day."

"Oh really, well maybe you should go and work for her then Bond! See how she copes with bloody two of you!"

"Are you jealous?" Bond raised an eyebrow at her outburst.

"Why would I be jealous?" Her voice went higher than normal at that accusation. If he wanted to ogle some downgraded version of her, he was welcome too.

"I think you are." He leaned closer to her, so Q would not hear what he was saying.

"Don't worry M, I still think your arse and legs look amazing, as well as your… other assets." He leaned back and looked to her chest with a smirk.

She could smell his cologne and she lost where she was for a few moments, it was only when he pulled back did she finally register what he had said.

"Bond if you ever speak to me like that again I will have you shot and sacked for sexual harassment! Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." He told her still looking at her chest.

"That means taking your bloody eyes off my chest!"

Q stood there uncomfortable with the exchange between them both. He often wondered if there was more between those two. He would never ask if he valued his life. Not that would matter when she finds out what was waiting in the next room.

M turned to Q, noticing how uncomfortable he was looking.

"Show us what you brought us here for Q so we can all go home!"

Q sighed; _'she was not going to like this'_. He nodded and motioned the two of them to follow him.

They made their way through the doors, only for Bond and M to come to face to face with the very people they were just discussing.

"What the hell?" Bond exclaimed looking at the alternate version him.

M ignored Bond's outburst, and continued to stare at the carbon copy of herself.

"Q you had better have a bloody good explanation for all of this!"

**An hour earlier, parallel world**

"You can't be serious in watching this movie again 007? We both know the only reason you watch it is so you can look at that Vesper woman!"

"There is that, and the fact that the onscreen you wears low cut blouses, that show of her cleavage. Then there was that outfit she wears in the Bahamas', which shows off her curves nicely."

"It's unprofessional if you ask me; I would never wear blouses or outfits like that!"

She turned to the man beside her and noticed he was not listening. She looked to the screen and noticed that the other version of her was walking out of parliament cleavage bouncing as she walked.

"Would you stop looking at her like that? It's unnerving," She folded her arms over her chest, she felt as if it were her he was looking at. She guessed in a weird way it was.

Once the scene was finished, he turned back to her. "You can't talk, I see the way you check out the other Bond when he comes out the water with nothing but those blue swim trunks."

"I do not, I am merely checking to see if he is up to standard for the job at hand." She told him indignant of what he was saying.

"Keep telling yourself that M."

M let out a huff and turned back to the screen. She wasn't keen on these movies, they made her look like she had more than a working relationship with Bond and vice versa, if that corridor scene in the second movie was anything to go by, she swore she could have cut the sexual tension with a knife.

The thought of her and Bond in a relationship did not sit well with her, it made her feel uncomfortable probably due to the fact that she was a mother and had a husband of her own. This other M did not appear to have any children and her husband disappeared after the first movie. She assumed he had died. Still the idea of her and Bond in a relationship was laughable to say the least.

The both continued to watch the movie in silence, with Bond moving closer to the screen whenever a woman came on. M rolled her eyes _'typical man'_. That did not stop her from looking at the other Bond's chest when he came out the water. _'He does have a nice body on him'._ Her eyes went further down to the front of his trunks. _'Bet he is big as well.' _She bit her lip, while staring. '_They don't call me the evil queen of numbers for nothing'._

She came out from her thoughts when she saw smoke coming from the screen.

"007, what have you done?"

"For once this isn't my doing." He got up and walked over to the screen, M following closely behind.

The smoke started to become thicker. Bond grabbed M's arm and started to push her back, trying to get them both far away as possible. They started to cough as they found it harder to breathe. The screen started to emit a loud noise, which caused Bond to turn around to see what was happening. Through the smoke, he saw sparks and he knew it was going to blow.

Not wasting any time, he pulled M close and pushed them both to the ground, with her underneath him so he could shield her from the blast. A few seconds later, there was a loud bang as the screen exploded, causing the glass to fly in all directions. As soon as it happened, it was gone.

Bond was confused. He looked up and noticed they were not in M's office, but instead in a large white room with computers.

"Are you alright?"

"I would be better if you could get off me 007!"

He cautiously got up, and then helped M from the floor.

"Where the hell are we?" She asked after dusting off her clothes.

"Oh shit."

They both turned to the sound of the voice and noticed a young man in his late twenty's with glasses and black shaggy hair.

"Who are you? And where the hell are we?"

"I'm Q, and you're in MI6, Q branch to be exact."

"You must be joking! You're too young to be Q, and if this is Q branch where are all the gadgets?" Bond could not believe what he was hearing.

"We are not in the habit of leaving them out, for classified reasons. I better contact M and let her know the situation. She is going to kill me."

"Wait, did you say M? She's M," Bond pointed to the small woman beside him.

"I know that 007, I meant my M." Q told him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The other M step forward, "What do you mean your M? Where the hell are we?"

"Q branch like I said, except you don't exist, although I doubt that theory right now. I was watching a movie that had you both in it on a new gadget I was working on. I accidently spilt coffee over it, and that was when you two appeared."

M rubbed her temples to prevent a headache she could feel coming on, where as Bond did not seem fazed by what was happening, instead he was eager to see what the M here was like.

"I had best get this call over with; you two stay here and don't touch anything." He aimed the last part to Bond.

They watched him walk away before M turned to Bond.

"If he thinks we are just movie versions of the people here that means that the people in the movies we have are actually real in this place and time."

"So what are you saying? Q's movie player turned into a time machine that can transport people from different worlds?"

Bond had heard some crazy theories in his life as an agent but this one topped them all.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

They both watched Q on the phone with 'his M', the call did not last long and if his face was anything to go by, they assumed he just got a bollocking.

"See some things haven't changed then." Bond sarcastically said turning to M.

She gave him a cold glare; if looks could kill, he would be a dead man.

"Both of you don't move."

They turned to look at him and watched as he walked away and out the door, leaving the two of them alone.

"Well this is brilliant, stuck in an alternate world. I can't think of a better way to spend the rest of my day!" M told him sarcastically while pacing around the room, looking at the various items that were there.

She stopped where she was and motioned Bond to her. Once he was next to her, they could hear voices outside the door. When the voices stopped, they took a step back as the door opened and in stepped Q. When he moved away, the two of them could not believe their eyes. There were differences between himself and the other Bond that just entered, but the two M's were identical.

The two of them looked as confused as they felt, it was only when the new M asked Q what had happened, they knew their troubles were just about to begin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: **Next chapter of this little fic for Saye0036 :) It took a different turn than what i was planning, and seemed to have developed a mind of its own lol.

Spoilers for Brosnan and Craig Bond movies. To make things less confusing the characters will be referred to as follows:

Brosnan Bond = 007

Craig Bond = Bond

Brosnan M = Barbara

Craig M = Olivia

Hope you enjoy :)

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><p>"Q you had better have a bloody good explanation for all of this!"<p>

Q gulped, "Well, the thing is that I was watching one of the Bond movies on a new gadget that I was working on, and accidentally spilt my coffee over it. Next thing I know these two appear." He pointed to the alternate M and Bond.

"That's all well and good on how they got here, but how do we get them back!"

"That part I'm not too sure about yet." Q told her sheepishly with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Well use that brain of your and figure something out. The quicker they go back where they came from the better!" M snapped at him finally losing her patience at their current predicament.

"Meanwhile, the four of us will talk in my office; hopefully Q will have everything sorted in a few hours."

"Who the hell do you think you are talking too?" The other M asked her annoyed. "In case you seem to have forgotten, you're not the only head of MI6 here!"

"That may be the case, but you're in my building, therefore I'm in charge! Do I make myself clear?"

Both Bonds stood there watching the exchange in anticipation, waiting to see what would happen. They noticed as the other M took deep breaths trying to keep her anger in check. They knew she would have slapped the other woman for addressing her like that. Both of them watched as she gave a small nod of her head in acknowledgement. Although, she would agree for now they both knew, that there would be tensions between the two.

"Now that's settled, we can get a move on. Contact me if you come up with anything Q."

"Ma'm."

M turned and walked out of Q branch, the other three following behind her. They walked in silence, with just the clicking of both M's heels making a noise on the floor.

"What happened to the normal MI6 Headquarters?" 007 asked curiously looking around the white corridors.

"She probably got the original headquarters blown up." Barbara M told him with a sneer in her voice.

M stopped, and the others nearly walked into her. She turned around her blue eyes ice cold and gave the other M a look of distain.

"For your information, I didn't bloody blow up headquarters, we recently had a situation a few months back and these headquarters are better for dealing with it. Now, if you have finished with the false accusations can we make it to my office in peace?"

Not waiting for an answer, she turned on her hells and continued walking.

"Who does that bitch think she is?"

M turned to look at both Bonds when they did not answer her. She looked to them and followed their line of vision. She gave her Bond a smack on his arm, to which he turned to her.

"What were you saying?" 007 asked her confused.

"You would have known what I was saying if you took your eyes of my counterparts arse."

Still fuming she continued to walk in the same direction as the other M, before turning round to both Bonds.

"If you ever so much glance at my arse, or if I even feel your eyes on me, I will shoot both of you. Understood?"

Both Bonds gulped and nodded, they faced many terrorists in their lifetime respectively, but the anger and threats of one small woman put the fear of God in them.

They both looked round about them while she walked on. "Two M's are going to be the death of me."

"Maybe, but I say we enjoy it while we can." Bond gave his counterpart a smirk.

"My sentiment's exactly."

They managed to catch up with both M's just as they were about to enter Olivia's office.

"Take a seat." She told them while walking around to her desk and sat down on the chair behind it.

007 and Barbara looked around the office noting the different changes, which were not in her original one.

"Right, I don't think introductions are in order since we know who we each are."

"Well, it's easy to distinguish between myself and 007 M, but you two are a like. So we need to call you both something else rather than M."

"Really, and what have you two decided to call yourselves?" She asked them both sarcastically raising an eyebrow.

"He's 007, referring to the parallel Bond, and I'll just be known as Bond."

"Very well, that's you two settled then." M rolled her eyes.

"What about you two?" Bond indicated between the two lookalikes.

"For the last time Bond, I can't tell…"

"You can call be Barbara, it is my name after all."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Barbara." Bond took her hand in his and kissed the back of it.

M watched on behind her desk, her face like thunder, and with a hint of jealousy as her Bond kissed her counterparts hand. She noticed the other M's face go red at the cheeks. Was she blushing?"

She did not want to know when she had started referring Bond to as hers, but she needed to get that thinking out her head right now.

"For Christ sake, Why not just put your name in the tabloids so the whole world to see."

Barbara took her hand back from Bond's and turned to look at the woman behind the desk.

"I have no problem with agents knowing my name, as long as they can keep it to themselves and do not use it, its called trust. And frankly if you don't trust your agents who can you trust."

"Are you even listening to yourself? So, you trust all your agents with your name, yet one of your agents 006 if I recall correctly was a double agent. He could have told anyone, do you like putting yourself at risk?"

"He didn't tell anyone though did he? Even though he was a double agent, he kept that secret to himself. What do people hope to gain by knowing our name! Yes, our name is on our record, they can check it up, but the information they get will be inaccurate and false! So get off that righteous high horse of yours and just tell us your name!"

She could feel both Bond's eyes on her waiting to see what she would do. Bond himself already knew her name, having managed to have a look at her file. He gathered the information about her was false, but at least he knew her name.

"If you ever talk to me like that again, I will not be held responsible for my actions. If you desperately want to know, my name is Olivia, but if you even mutter my name outside of this room I will make you disappear so fast you won't know what's happened."

"That wasn't so bad now was it, Olivia." Barbara told her in a mocking tone.

"I quite like the name, very elegant for an elegant lady such as you." 007 said taking her hand and placing a kiss on the back of it, mimicking Bond's actions only a few seconds ago.

Bond sat there waiting for the slap his counterpart was about to get. When no slap came, he wanted to pull his other self away from her. She was his M, not some Bond wannabe's from another universe.

"I'm glad you think so 007, I see at least one Bond has some manners." She looked over to the Bond in question, who was sitting there with his hands gripping the arm rests, no doubt to stop him from punching his counterpart. She gave a smirk into herself _'consider this payback Bond.'_

Her hand was released and she cleared her throat to hide a laugh that she could feel about to break free.

"Now, that matter has been cleared up. We need to know what happened from your world that caused you to end up here."

"I'm not sure what happened. We were watching Casino Royale so 007 here could drool at you whenever you came on the screen."

"You're one to talk, eying up Bond when he comes out of the water in his trunks."

The Bond in question gave Barbara a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "So, you have a thing for eyeing up your agents?"

"I do not eye up my agents! I have a husband who I love dearly thank you very much."

"I'm not complaining, and there is no harm in looking. I am pretty hard to resist if I do say so myself" He gave her a wink.

"Don't flatter yourself Bond, your over sized ego is making me suffocate."

"There is one thing we agree on in that respect. Can we please continue with the reason as to what happened?"

Olivia was going to snap, she could not be bothered dealing with this mess, it was starting to give her a headache.

"We don't know what happened after that, the screen just started to smoke and the next thing we know is we are in your Q branch, with a younger version of Q. Then you both walked in. We did come to the theory that when Q spilt his coffee over his gadget it turned into a time machine that can transport people from different words, hence how we got here."

"Let's hope Q can find a way to reverse it." Olivia told them, rubbing her temples.

"You said there were movies of us too, so you know everything that has happened up until now?" Bond asked them questionably trying to make sense of this. In a way it made sense if they had movies based on their missions, they would have a copy of theirs.

"Yes, and I have to admit I would never wear such outfits as Olivia does it's unprofessional in my opinion."

Olivia stopped rubbing her temples and looked at her.

"Excuse me, what's wrong with my outfits? It's not like I wear skirts above the knee!"

"No, you just like to wear low cut blouses that when you walk 007 here hopes your breasts will pop out."

Olivia stood up with her hands on the desk looking down at her.

"How dare you! The way I want to dress is my opinion alone, and its called style something I don't think you have even heard of with the suits you wear."

"If it's any consolation, I actually like your outfits Olivia." 007 told her, looking at her chest seeing a hint of cleavage from her top.

Barbara turned to him "We all know you do, why don't you sleep with her already, she can add another Bond to her list."

"What did you just say? I have never slept with Bond, nor do I have any plan too!"

Barbara stood up too and looked straight at Olivia.

"Oh no, well the looks you give each other say otherwise, you could cut the sexual tension with a bloody knife. Especially, when Bond had the capture and kill order out on him, you were giving each other doe eyed looks for Christ sake."

"There is nothing going on between me and my agent! At least I do not use stupid one-liners before I send Bond on a mission _'remember: shadows stay in front or behind. Never on top.' _ I mean really, that's the best advice you could give him!"

"Better that than some doe eyed expression while saying_ 'I knew you where you'_ It was like watching a scene from a bloody romance movie."

"It was merely an acknowledgement that I knew he would trust his instincts. You are looking far too much into this! And speaking of doe eyes you gave them yourself before you sent Bond to Russia and told him to come back alive!"

The two Bonds watched the two women snipe at each other; it truly was a sight to see. Although the same in appearance, they handled themselves differently. Olivia was like fire; her temper easily ignited and needed an outlet. Where as Barbara was like ice, cold, calm and collected, but just as deadly.

"So, have you and Olivia slept together?"

"No, but I won't deny that I do have feelings for her."

"I can certainly understand why." 007 looked over to where Olivia was, still in her feud with her counterpart.

"What about you, any feelings for Barbara over there?"

"I care for her, but I don't have any romantic feelings towards her. I consider her a confidant someone who I can depend on."

"Olivia is the same in that respect; at least they have some similar personality, although I could be wrong about that."

Bond noticed Olivia had moved around from her desk so she was on the same side as Barbara. This could end badly, as much he would love to see two M's fighting each other he would rather they were in one piece.

"At least I didn't get myself kidnapped, by a deranged woman who had her father killed! Let us not forget he was the same man with who you studied law at Oxford. Is that what they call it in your world nowadays?"

"He was nothing more than an old friend, who needed my help. That was all there was!"

"Keep telling yourself that."

"You have got a nerve to stand there and criticise me getting kidnapped, when you were nearly shot by your own bodyguard! I mean really, you had no idea he was a double agent! Goodness knows why you picked him as your bodyguard in the first place. Fat lot of good protection he was, he couldn't even aim a gun to shoot you without it missing its target!"

"His security check came back clear every year, so I had no reason to be suspicious of him!"

Olivia folded her arms over her chest, leaning back against her desk, while Barbara was pacing around the room. It was then she noticed the china bulldog on Olivia's desk.

"What the hell is that? It's the most hideous thing I have ever laid eyes on."

"It always sits there, sight for sore eyes that's what that is."

"Shut up!" Both M's told Bond at the same time, he merely raised an eyebrow at them, trying to hold back a grin.

"What I have or don't have on my desk is no concern of yours! If I want you're opinion on interior decorating I will bloody ask for it!"

"I can tell you right now, that thing would never see the light of day in my office." She pointed at the dog with a look of disgust on her face.

"Good thing it isn't in your office then isn't it!"

The phone in Olivia's office started to ring; she silently prayed it was Q telling her that he found a way to send them back. 007 she did not mind, M on the other hand, she wanted to throttle. She picked up her phone after four rings.

"Hello? Q slow down, what has happened?"

Barbara and the two Bond's looked at her questionably.

"How the hell did that happen? Call in Tanner; get him to meet me in my office as soon as possible. The other matter will have to wait, this is more important. Focus on getting a location on that missing hard drive, we need to get it back, if the information stored on that hard drive made public; agent's lives will be on the line."

Olivia put down the phone. "Looks like you will be staying here a bit longer than necessary. A serious matter has come up that is more important."

"What exactly is on the hard drive?" 007 looked to her for an answer.

"Details of every undercover agent that are currently placed in terrorist organisations by NATO states."

"How could you have been so stupid to put details like that on a hard drive?"

"It's encrypted, decoding it will take them a while, which gives us some time to retrieve it!"

"So what do you need us to do?"

Olivia looked to 007 as if he had grown another head.

"What do you mean us? This has nothing to do with you both." She looked from him to Barbara.

"That may be, but two 00 agents are better than one. And M often tells me I'm the best she has." 007 looked straight at Barbara, who nodded her head.

"007 is right. Since we are here, we might as well make ourselves useful, no matter how much I question your decisions. Just don't expect me to get along with you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Olivia turned to the two Bonds.

"Once Q has a location, I want you both to go after that hard drive and get it back by any means necessary, we can't afford to let this information be put in the hand of terrorists."

"Do we get gadgets to help us on this mission?"

"No. There is no time, so you are going to have to do it the old-fashioned way 007. I'm sure you can manage."

Her phone rang again and she quickly picked it up.

"Are you sure? They will be right down."

She put the receiver back down "Looks like you both will be going to Istanbul, your target is a man called Patrice, capture him and bring back that hard drive. The sooner we know who he is working for the less in the dark we will be. You both will go to Q branch, where Q will have weapons ready for you."

Both Bonds nodded in understanding, before 007 walked over to Barbara.

"Try not to cause too much damage when I'm gone will you." He told her with a trace of humour in his voice.

"What makes you think I will?"

"I'm not even going to answer that."

They turned to watch the interaction between Olivia and Bond, trying to make out what they were saying.

"Do try and come back in one piece won't you Bond, and try not cause too much damage."

"I can promise the first, but not the second request. My instincts are telling me there is something bigger going on here, than merely a stolen hard drive."

"There may be, but we will only know for definite when you bring in Patrice."

Bond nodded, and was about to make his way over to 007 when he felt her hand on his arm.

"Good luck."

He gave her a small smile, and when she let go of his arm he continued walking over to 007 so they could get this mission over with as quickly as possible.

Both M's turned to watch the two men leave the office and out of sight, before Barbara turned back to look at Olivia.

"So what do we do now?"

"We wait for Tanner, and then go from there." Olivia closed her eyes; her headache would not be leaving anytime soon. She opened her eyes, let out a curse, before reopening her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I just realised I'm going to have to explain to Tanner why there is two of me." She looked to Barbara, who only gave her a chuckle in response.

Olivia gave out a sigh, _"This keeps getting better and better"_ she thought to herself. She only hoped both Bond's were successful in their mission, because she did not want to think of the consequences if they failed.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** **Here we are my dears chapter 3 finally lol :) **

**Thank you to LadyDuchess82 for giving me a few ideas for this chapter to work and to Saye0036 for some ideas for further chapters ;) **

**Also, thank you to you both, as well as Liz1967 and Fairytales1981 for the support and to others who have taken the time to read, i really appreciate it :)**

**Same spoilers apply.**

**_Italics ~ Q on speaker._ **

**Hope you enjoy :)**

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><p>Tanner quickly walked along the corridor heading to M's office. When he got the call from Q about a security breach, he wasted no time in hurrying to headquarters. Stopping outside M's door, he knocked and entered when told. Opening the door his eyes widened at what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes to make sure that what he was seeing was actually real.<p>

"Please tell me I was not hallucinating and they're actually two of you."

Olivia tried not to let a smile break free when she saw the confused look on his face, as he comically looked back between both her and Barbara.

"No Tanner you are not hallucinating. Barbara meet Tanner my chief of staff, Tanner meet Barbara Head of MI6 from another universe."

Tanner shook Barbara's hand in a daze, before letting go, his mind processing what 'his M' just told him.

"Did you just say another universe? What is going on here? I feel like I've walked into the twilight zone or an episode of Doctor Who."

"You can thank your Q for that Mr Tanner; he somehow managed to make a time jumper that can transport people from other worlds." Barbara told him as if it was a normal occurrence in everyday life.

"I think I need to sit down." Tanner made his way over to one of the seats in front of M's desk trying to wrap his mind round this.

"Maybe we should start from the beginning; hopefully it will make more sense." Olivia told him retaking her seat behind her desk, while Barbara remained where she was.

"From what we know, Q was watching one of those Bond movies we found on a new gadget while spilling coffee over it and this is the result." She waved her hands between herself and Barbara.

"So Q has developed his own parallel universe time jumper, Well, at least it was only another you and not another Bond." He gave a smile before it slowly disappeared when he saw Olivia's face.

"Oh God, now there's two of them, this is all we need one was bad enough Ma'am. Where is he?"

He looked around the office expecting him to pop out of somewhere.

"We both agreed that 007 would help Bond on his latest mission. He is the best this agency has even you can't deny that Mr Tanner." Barbara told him while walking over to M's desk and taking a seat.

"I suppose not, I'm dreading the expenditure report after this Ma'am. They'll both make the government bankrupt."

Olivia let out a sigh, _'they had bloody better not cause any damage than necessary or she will string them both up.' _

"I'm sure that it won't come to that Tanner. Now about the mission, I need you to keep contact with both Bonds at all time. Let me know when they have reached Istanbul and myself and Barbara will take over from there."

"I can see this full scenario being a disaster, you're both Head of MI6 but that doesn't mean you share the same opinions. We can't have you both arguing over an order, if one of you disagrees."

Olivia and Barbara looked at each other, both of them knew Tanner had a point, they couldn't afford for this mission to fail.

"You're right Tanner we can't, which is why I suggest that if we can't make a joint decision between us you can take over."

Olivia looked over to Barbara waiting for her to object. "That's fine by me, we already don't agree on certain matters."

Tanner nodded; he did not see any other way other than what M suggested. "What do we tell the other members of staff? You have a long lost twin?"

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you Tanner. To answer your question, we'll just say Q is designing life model decoys and she and 007 are a prototype." She pointed to Barbara who was fuming called 'she'.

Olivia looked expectantly at him waiting for his response.

Tanner thought the full situation was already crazy, but the idea was plausible, and heck Q has already accidentally built his own parallel jumper device, so this should not be much of a stretch of the imagination.

"Alright, we'll do it your way I just hope your plan works otherwise we will be looking for two new 007's."

"Your optimism is duly noted Mr Tanner, are you always this morbid?"

"It won't fail Tanner." Olivia interjected before Tanner could reply to Barbara's remark.

Tanner merely gave a nod in acknowledgement.

"Right, well that's that matter settled. Ronson is already situated in Istanbul and has been informed. Try to see if you can make contact with him to find his status. Hopefully he will be able to shed more light on the situation."

"This Patrice may not even be in Istanbul by the time Bond and 007 get there."

"There's a chip stored in the hard drive that allows us to track it, and I can assure you he is still in Istanbul. Q managed to obtain CCTV footage and track the flight records."

"Well, it's great to know that top secret information on a hard drive has a tracker! You would not be in this situation if you had kept the hard-drive in headquarters. What the hell was it doing out in public anyway?"

Barbara was curious to know. Her counterpart was the head of MI6 for goodness sake, she should have known better.

"It was at headquarters, from what Q told me it sounds as if we had a mole. They downloaded the information and stole the laptop."

Barbara looked at her in disbelief. "And this is you just finding out about this now?"

"Yes. A member of Q branch was checking the system due to a fault and noticed the files of all undercover agents had been downloaded to one of the laptops. When they went to account for the said laptop, it was missing. Hence, how we are in this situation now."

"First it was your bodyguard and now this? Does the MI6 here just employ anyone without a background check?"

Tanner could feel the tension between the two M's and he did not want to be around the two of them when it escalated into a full blown shouting match. One bad tempered M was enough.

"I'll just go and contact Ronson Ma'am. I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Make sure you do."

Tanner rose from his seat and quickly walked towards the door to exit her office.

"Oh, and Tanner?"

Tanner stopped and turned to look at Olivia, whose eyes were still on Barbara.

"Do not alert the minister just yet of recent events. We'll wait until we have more information, before this needs to reach those prigs."

"Yes Ma'am."

Olivia waited until the door closed before she stood up.

"If you are going to be under my building, you will learn to keep that mouth of yours shut. To answer your question, of course we bloody to a background check. I watched as you did one as well with a Miranda Frost. Then we found out she was a double agent as well."

"That was different!" Barbara stood up as well, moving close into her personal space.

Olivia looked to her in disdain "Oh really, how so?"

When no answer was forthcoming, Olivia knew she had her.

"I thought so, there was nothing in her file to suggest otherwise was there? Well the same was for these occasions. So don't you dare sit there and tell me I don't do my job!"

Barbara let out a humourless laugh "I never even said anything about you not doing your job!"

"Not in so many words, but the implication was there, so don't even try to deny it!"

Barbara crossed her arms over her chest, looking into the deep blue eyes that mirrored her own.

"I'm questioning your methods as to how you go about certain matters, and before you start on another rant about me being hypocritical. I can see faults in my own actions by witnessing yours. I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe we should try and get along, after all we are on the same side. Sort of depends on how you look at it."

Olivia knew she was right, but it did not mean she had to like it. She would be keeping an eye on the woman in front of her in case she tried anything.

"Fine, I agree with you on that respect, but I have a feeling this civilised attitude won't last long. We are both too stubborn to admit when we are in the wrong."

Barbara nodded, "True, but that's why we have Bond we just place the blame on him. No one is the wiser."

Olivia gave a hint of a smile "Yes, that is very true; I'm surprised he hasn't said anything yet."

"Mines has, your Bond hasn't from what I've gathered. I wonder why that would be."

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Not this again. How many times to I have to say it!? I am not in a relationship with Bond!"

"Have I come at a bad time?"

Olivia quickly turned to the door to see Tanner in the doorway.

"What is it Tanner?"

He gave a small cough to clear his throat.

"We've made contact with Ronson, he's following Patrice as we speak."

"Good. Have we found out who is behind this?"

"Not yet, Ma'am, Q and his personnel are doing everything they can to try and get a lead, but our best bet would be Patrice."

"Tanner you and I both know that Bond bringing in Patrice alive will be slim."

"True Ma'am, but there is a first for everything."

"Have you heard anything from 007 or Bond Mr Tanner?"

"The last I heard Ma… Barbara, they were on the jet heading towards their destination."

Olivia was going to reprimand Tanner for his near slip up, but she let it slide. There was no point starting another argument, it would get them nowhere. She would be glad when this was all over.

The phone in her office started to ring again and she had to suppress a groan from leaving her lips.

"Hello."

"_Ma'am, we've got another situation." _

"What is it this time Q, I'm putting you on speaker."

Tanner and Barbara moved over to Olivia's desk wondering what was happening now.

"_An outside source has managed to hack themselves into our mainframe." _

"How the bloody hell did they get past our firewalls!?"

"_I'm not sure, Ma'am, but whoever it is they know what they're doing." _

"Shut everything down." She looked to her laptop screen and noticed the screen went black.

"_I'm trying, but every time I get near they use a new code to override mine. They appear to be using more than one server, which makes it more difficult to track the right one instead of the decoys." _

Olivia's screen came back to life, the black screen replaced with a series of codes that made no sense to her.

"You had better find a way Q and fast!"

The sound in M's office was their breathing and the sound of Q's quick fingers moving along on his keyboard over the speaker.

"_I've nearly got it." _

"You either have or you haven't!"

Olivia looked to both Tanner and Barbara, who both looked how she felt. There was no doubt in her mind, that whoever was behind this they had a vendetta against MI6 and she will be damned if they get away with it.

Looking back to her screen, she watched as the code suddenly vanished.

"Q did you manage to stop it?"

"_No, I'm still on it." _

Barbara looked to Olivia and saw the confusion on her face. "What is it?"

"What the hell is this!?"

"_It's code Ma'am." _

"Maybe for you, but I know words when I see them."

Tanner and Barbara moved behind Olivia's desk to look at her screen only to see four words appear across it.

"What does 'THINK ON YOUR SINS' mean?" Barbara asked her still looking at the screen as the white writing multiplied until it was covering the monitor.

Olivia ignored her question "How's it coming Q?"

"_Got it!" _

The three of them watched as the writing on the screen disappeared and the original desktop returned.

"Can you track to see where the servers are located?"

"_No, they used more than one server so the code bounced back and forth between each of them. Trying to find a direct location would be impossible." _

"I thought as much. Check the system to make sure no information was stolen. I want you to improve our firewalls; we can't let this happen again."

"_Yes Ma'am." _

"And Q?"

"_Yes?" _

"Good work."

Olivia ended the call; she remembered Bond's words to her earlier that there was something bigger behind all of this. His instincts never seemed to be wrong; which was one of the reasons why he was her best agent.

"You haven't answered my question?"

"It's because I don't have an answer! You of all people should know that we have both given orders that leave the impression that we are heartless bitches. It is part of the job which makes all, the more people wanting to stab us in the back!"

"That may be so, but whoever this is they have not only a vendetta against MI6, but also against you."

Olivia looked towards her as if she had grown a second head. "What gave you that impression!?"

"They already managed to hack themselves into the servers, so why not post the message on every computer. Q never received the message, which means that it was directly aimed at you."

"I have to agree with Barbara Ma'am, they seem to be targeting both MI6 and you, which means that it's someone you know"

"If that is the case Tanner, why are they only acting now!? Why did they not act sooner!?"

He did not have an answer for her. There were more questions than answers; they were in the dark while whoever was behind this were miles in front.

'This has got to be the worst cock ups to ever bloody take place here!' she thought to herself frustrated. If they didn't recover that hard-drive and find out who was behind this, she will no doubt be kissing her job goodbye. There was only one person who she knew that had managed to hack into government systems once before, but it couldn't be him. He would be long dead by now. She banished that thought from her mind, there was no point dwelling on the past, she had to focus on the now.

"Go ahead Ronson."

Olivia looked to Tanner waiting for a report.

"He's followed Patrice to an abandoned building he hasn't left since." He relayed the message to both M's.

"Tell him to stay where he is. He is not to apprehend the target until Bond and 007 arrive to his location. I do not need the death of an agent on top of everything due to foolish heroics!"

Tanner gave a nod to her and dictated her orders to Ronson, he only prayed he would listen.

"Tanner, take Barbara to the main office and get her ready. I have a feeling that this task is going to me more complex than we think. The sooner we are all ready the better."

"What about you?" Barbara glanced at her.

"I'll be joining you in a few moments. I just have to lock these files away." She motioned to the pile of files next to her.

Barbara did not buy that for a second, but she did not question further and followed Tanner form the room.

Olivia waited a few moments before turning to her laptop, typing 'Tiago Rodriquez' into the database; it did not take her long to find the file. She ignored the picture of the man in front of her and quickly scrolled through the pages. Looking at his status, she saw it read 'Deceased.' She let out a sigh of relief that it was not him that was behind all of this.

She was about to close the file when she saw the date she had given him up to the Chinese. Today was the anniversary of that day. She felt a cold chill go through her as if someone walked over her grave. It had to be a coincidence, but the nagging doubt lingered in the back of her mind. If he could hack into servers, he could easily change his file record, which meant that he might not be dead, as she had once thought.

Closing the file, and her laptop, she started to make her way to the main office her mind filled with thoughts of what she had recently discovered. She prayed her thoughts were wrong, if he was alive and behind this mess, their troubles would not end with a recovered hard drive. He would stop at nothing to make sure she and MI6 paid for what she had done to him. He was a ruthless killer. Olivia had a foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach that her days were now numbered.

tbc


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Here we are next part my dears. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed i really appreciate it :) **

**Italics - Bond/007's response on coms **

**Hope you enjoy :)**

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><p>Barbara followed Tanner through the various hallways, before leading her into a spacious room that had various glass panels with personnel on either side working on computers. She merely gave them a nod of her head when they called her Ma'am.<p>

They stopped at one of the desks and Tanner handed her an earpiece.

"This will be your communication with both Bond's; it will become active once they have landed in Istanbul."

She gave a nod and placed the device in her ear, she felt ridiculous she couldn't remember the last time she had to wear one of these. She usually let Tanner deal with communication with 007, and then he would pass on the information to her if he wasn't in the country.

She looked towards the entrance and saw Olivia make her way into the room, the various agents, giving her confused looks as they looked back and forth between Olivia and herself.

Olivia paid them no attention and made her way over to them, taking the earpiece Tanner offered to her and placing it in her ear.

"Ma'am, you may want to explain why there are two of you, I think everyone wants to know."

He looked at the various faces staring at them, waiting for an explanation rather than ask encase M bit their head off.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that Tanner. I can feel forty pair of eyes on us."

Olivia turned around to the personnel and cleared her throat, before explaining to them that Q was working on life model decoys. She let out a relieved sigh into herself as no one questioned her answer. Then again, why would they? Q is known for inventing crazy gadgets. The woman next to her was living proof of how crazy his gadgets could be.

"Both Bonds are ten minutes from their drop off point." Tanner interrupted her thoughts and she turned to look at him.

"Very well, inform Ronson and let him know they will be on their way."

She turned to Barbara "Let's hope your Bond is good at following orders, although that is probably unlikely."

"I would me more worried about them clashing over who is better than the orders we give them. You know it will happen. They will try to outsmart each other."

Olivia knew there was a chance of that happening, she just hoped it didn't interfere with them recovering that hard-drive or she will kill them herself.

"How is this going to work?"

"Your channel allows you talk with 007, and mine gives me contact with Bond. When they have established connection, I'll put them on speaker, and we can judge the situation, hopefully our orders won't clash." Even though she seriously doubted the latter,

_"M. Can you hear me?"_

"Loud and clear, Bond we're sending you Ronson's co-ordinates you are to meet him there."

_"Got them. So which M am I speaking to?" _

"I think you know fine, well, which M you're speaking to Bond."

_"Is it my M?" _

She was going to hit him when she next saw him. Barbara looked over at her curiously, and she let out a sigh.

"It's your M."

_"I always knew you were mine." _

"Yes, well now that's established get yourself to Ronson's location. I'm putting you on speaker."

Olivia looked over to Barbara, who raised an eyebrow at her "His M. Yet you say there is nothing going on between you both."

Olivia didn't answer her, as her attention caught the conversation on the speaker.

_"I'll drive." _

_"No, I think you'll find that I'm the better driver."_ Bond retaliated with a hint of annoyance.

_"Says the one that has wrecked goodness knows how many cars. I think I had better drive, if we want to get there in one piece." _

Barbra gave her the 'I told you so look' that just fuelled Olivia's anger even more.

"I don't give a damn who bloody well drives! One of you better get behind that wheel and get to Ronson's location or you are going to be taken off field duty for a year!"

_"Yes Ma'am." _They both chorused.

Olivia let out a frustrated sigh, one Bond was barely bearable, two would be the death of her.

"Ma'am." Tanner warily approached her.

"Oh God, what now?"

"Ronson has infiltrated Patrice's hide out, we have lost contact with him."

"Does anyone follow orders around here?! Bond you had best get to Ronson's location quickly."

_"Right away Ma'am." _

"Are you always this temperamental?"

"I think if you had lost a hard-drive with top secret information you would feel temperamental too. It's my job on the line not yours, so keep your comments to yourself!"

Olivia started to pace back and forth waiting for confirmation that they had reached the hideout. She hoped Ronson had managed to apprehend the bastard, or at least recovered the hard-drive, but chances of that were slim.

_"He's took the hard-drive and Ronson's been shot." _

"Get after him!"

_"I'm stabilising Ronson." _

"We don't have time."

_"I need to stop the bleeding." _

"Leave him and go after Patrice!"

Olivia gave a silent curse if Ronson had just bloody waited.

"The medical evacuation team are on there way." Tanner informed them over his own headset.

_"They will never get here in time." _

"You have your orders now go!" Olivia told him.

It was this very reason why she hated her job sometimes. She had the life of every agent in her hand, and she could easily take that life away if it meant the mission would be a success.

_"We have sight of him. He's in a black Audi." _007 informed them over the speaker.

_"I thought you said you were the better driver. Would you put your bloody foot down!?" _

"Do you still have sight of him?" Barbara asked hoping they did, she looked over to Olivia and noticed the conflicting emotions over her face.

_"Affirmative, shit he's spotted us." _

"What's happening?"

_"Currently being shot at Ma'am." _

Tanner looked at the computer and followed their two separate signals.

"Which way am I going; I've lost sight of them?"

"Just keep going, I can direct you from here." Tanner informed him.

"You know what's at stake. We can't afford to lose that list." Barbara and Olivia both said at the same time.

They turned to look at each other a look of disbelief on both their faces, causing Tanner to roll his eyes.

_"Where are they now?" _

Tanner looked at his screen and noticed they were on the roof of the Grand Bazzar, 'great more damages.' He could hit his head repeatedly off the desk; he didn't want to see the report.

"They're on the roof of the Grand Bazzar. If you take a left, there is a bridge you can cut him off there."

_"And you say I pull stupid stunts." _

"What's happened? Report."

_"They're on a train." He told them exasperated. _

"What do you mean they're on a train?"

_"Exactly that, they're on top of a moving train." _

"Well, go after them!"

_"This is why I work alone." _He mumbled, but Olivia and Barbara still heard him.

"Do you think they'll get it back?" Barbara asked her counterpart, she was starting to become agitated herself.

"For once, I'm not too sure. We can only hope."

"I'm losing him; he's going out of range. We've lost tracking; we're sitting with a blind eye."

Tanner informed them typing frantically on the computer trying to get the signal back.

_"What the hell is going on? I'm still with them." _

"Tanner get me CCTV, satellite, anything." Olivia turned to him, the same time there was a crashing sound through the speakers.

"What was that?"

There was a sigh followed by his bored voice _"Four VW Beatles. 'shit he's uncoupling the train car." _

There was a grunt in her earpiece and she turned to look at the woman next to her, who raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alright?" She asked through her own earpiece.

_"Just changing carriages Ma'am." _

Olivia looked to the other personnel as they worked frantically trying to get a clean visual. This wasn't going the way she had hoped and let out a sigh.

_"Looks like there isn't much more road. I can't go any further." _

Olivia moved to stand behind one of the desks, her hands resting on top as she leaned over and stared at the speaker. Barbara knew it herself that they were running out of time, the chances of retrieving that hard drive was becoming slimmer with each passing moment.

_"I may have a shot, it's not clean." _

Olivia could feel the palms of her hands sweating, it was now or never had they only had one try at this. She looked from Barbara and Tanner noticing the tension and apprehension on their faces.

Tanner looked to his M and knew she was caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Can you get into a better position?" He asked, knowing there was likely no chance of that.

_"Negative. There is a tunnel ahead we're running out of time."_

The tension in the room was thick, almost suffocating. The three of them looking to each other trying to figure out what to do.

"Take the shot. I said take the shot."

The two of them looked to her, as if she had grown a second head, but her face was set hard in determination.

_"Did I mention I didn't have a clean shot?"_ He told them sarcastically.

"I've given you an order. Take the bloody shot."

They waited with baited breath for the outcome. After a few moments, his voice travelled through the speakers.

_"Agent down." _

Olivia and Barbara stood there hardly believing what had just happened. Not only had they lost the hard-drive they had lost an agent. The words echoed around her mind, how an earth could he have missed? He was the best the agency had, although now she seriously doubted that. Looking towards the woman in front of her, she saw the underlying anger and hatred aimed directly at her. She knew the other woman would not be forgiving her anytime soon, and why would she? She had just given an order that resulted in the death of Olivia's Bond.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** _**Bold/Italics - Mallory's side of the conversation.**_

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><p>Numb. That's what Olivia was feeling as she made her way back to her office. She couldn't believe that he was gone. After everything he had gone through in the past, the one person she trusted was gone thanks to a bullet from his doppelganger.<p>

Letting herself into her office, she looked around, her eyes catching the china bulldog on her desk that was looking at her in accusation. She only got it to annoy James, and she was right about that assumption.

Taking her seat behind her desk, she reached out for the bulldog turning it so it was facing towards her. It was partly due to her that they were in this mess, and she would take responsibility for her actions. If the committee wanted rid of her then she would, but not before, she resolved the issue.

"Olivia…"

She looked towards the sound of the voice noticing Barbara in the doorway it was the first time she had seen the woman unsure of how to proceed since she had arrived. Olivia held her tongue waiting to see what she had to say.

"I know I'm the last person you want to see, but I don't regret my orders. I had a chance and I took it, even though the outcome was not the way I envisioned it to be. Ask yourself this though, what would you have done if I didn't give the orders for 007 to take the shot, or if we weren't here and it was someone else in 007's place. What would do?"

Olivia let out a sigh, it was one conversation she didn't want to discuss, but it looked as if Barbara wouldn't budge until she got an answer,

"I think you know what I would have done."

Barbara walked over to her, "I need to hear you say it."

"Why? So you can gloat?"

"No, reassurance, because believe it or not I truly am sorry you lost Bond, it was never my intention for it to end the way it did."

Olivia knew that herself, she took the opportunity when they had it, she couldn't blame the other woman for that.

"If you hadn't given those orders for 007 to take the shot, I would have done it myself."

She watched as Barbara's face softened somewhat as she took a seat in front of her.

"But I need to ask you this. If our roles were reversed and I gave the order for Bond to take the shot and it killed 007 instead. What would you have done, knowing that my orders killed your best agent?"

"At first I would be angry and may have slapped you, but once I had calmed down and thought everything over, I would gradually accept that the orders were the best course of action."

Olivia gave her a nod, "You have just described how I'm feeling at the moment, but I won't slap you no matter how much it would satisfy me."

"Well, that's something at least." Barbara have her a weak smile.

"Quite, and I'll tell you something that I used to tell Bond. Regret is unprofessional. Remember that. I had better inform the committee what has happened, no doubt they will want to speak with me."

"What do you want us to do? I'm staying until this full situation is resolved, besides two M's against them, they're in for a shock."

Olivia had a feeling the other woman wouldn't leave, secretly she was glad that she would have at least some back up.

"All right, if you're sure you MI6 won't fall to the ground while you're here."

Barbara gave her a smirk, "No chance of that, 007 is here with me so MI6 will be relatively damage free."

"Thank goodness for small favours then."

Barbara watched as she gave a smirk that mirrored her own, but didn't reach her eyes, which were full of sadness, with a trace of determination. Olivia may have denied having feelings for Bond brushing them off as if it was nothing, when Barbara could tell Bond meant more to her than what she may have realised.

"Quite, you had better make that phone call. I've given 007 orders to return to headquarters. No doubt you will want to speak with him."

"I would, if you could send him to my office once he returns that would be greatly appreciated. I need to write Bond's obituary. What do you say about a man like that?"

The thought of writing 007's obituary has never crossed her mind. She always had faith that he would return to her alive and he hadn't broken that promise yet.

"The truth, he was dedicated agent and a server of British fortitude, but if I'm brutally honest, he would hate it no matter what you write. 007 no doubt would think the same if you showed him it."

"Yes, I thought he might."

Barbara rose from her seat and left Olivia with what needed to be done. She watched her leave, then looked towards her phone, she was dreading making the call, but I needed to be done.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone and dialled, waiting with baited breath for the person on the other end to pick up.

**_"Intelligence and Security Comitee, Gareth Malory's office." _**

"It's M, I need to speak to Mr Mallory immediately. A serious situation has come up and agents' lives are at risk."

**_"Hold on a moment."_**

M let out a sigh, bloody typical.

**_"Putting you through now." _**

"Thank you."

**_"Mallory." _**

"No doubt my message has been passed on."

**_"Yes, it has. How did you let this happen? Do you have any idea the seriousness of this situation?" _**

"I'm fully aware of the seriousness of this situation Mallory. I sent Bond to retrieve the hard drive, unfortunately he failed and I've lost two agents."

**_"If you kept an eye on your people, this situation could have been avoided." _**

"Are you questioning my authority?"

**_"That's exactly what I'm doing. I need you in my office tomorrow morning at the latest so we can discuss on how to handle this matter." _**

"Very well."

**_"Nine sharp, no later." _**

M clenched her hand, feeling her nails dig into her palm.

"I'll see you then."

**_"Oh, and M, I'm sorry for the loss of your agents." _**

Hearing the dial tone, she placed the receiver back down, dreading the conversation that tomorrow would bring. She could worry about that later, right now, she had to deal with Bond's obituary and truthfully, this was going to be harder to face than any meeting with Mallory.

Bringing up his file on her laptop, she stared at his picture for a few moments trying to remember every detail. She was still trying to process that he was actually gone; she would have to sell his flat, and get rid of his personal belongings. The thought caused a pain in her heart and she had no idea why. It was protocol for the death of an unmarried agent with no next of kin. Thinking long and hard she decided she would put his things in storage, bugger protocol.

Taking one last look at his file, she changed his status from active to deceased, that single word alone made it final, he as gone. Casting her emotions aside, she closed his file, brought up a blank document, and started to type his obituary. Her hands hovered above the keys as she thought about what to say. She thought back to their first meeting right up to present day and how their relationship changed through the years.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she felt a presence of someone else in her office with her.

"Ma'am, Barbara said you wanted to see me?"

She looked up to see 007 standing in front of her, looking haggard and his voice holding regret.

"Yes, have a seat."

007 did as she requested, when he entered her office, he didn't miss the far away look in her eyes, no doubt thinking about Bond.

"The reason why I asked you here is because I know you blame yourself for Bond's death. You may have taken the shot, but it was Bond's own decision to follow Patrice, he wouldn't want you to blame yourself, although he might be pissed you ruined his suit."

He let out a breath he didn't know that he was holding, she may not blame him, but he could tell she was blaming herself. Reaching out, he took one of his hands in hers, causing her to look at him questioningly.

"He wouldn't want you to blame yourself either, he cared about you even though he didn't voice it his actions said more than enough."

Olivia felt tears well up in her eyes, and diverted her attention away from him. The last thing she needed was for him to see her break down. She tried to keep them at bay, but she could feel a few escape and leaving a wet trail down her face.

007 didn't hesitate, he stood up and moved so he was behind her desk next to her. Gently turning her chair around, he reached under her chin and motioned for her to look at him.

The sight of her dark blue eyes filled with sorrow caused his heart to clench. Reaching up, he started to wipe away her tears with his thumb.

"We'll fix this Olivia."

"I hope you're right because if we don't I'll have more deaths of agents on my shoulders and goodness knows what else."

He gave her hand a squeeze in comfort, "You've got Tanner, Barbara and me. You won't have to face this alone."

She blinked her eyes a couple of times to get her tears under control.

"It's alright to cry once in a while, no one will think any less of you."

"I'm not one for showing weakness 007."

"It's not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of grieving. If anyone deserves a good cry occasionally, it's you. You're as bad as Barbara you think you're both indestructible when you're both human just like the rest of us."

"Speak for yourself."

"I think today proved myself and your Bond we aren't as indestructible as we make out to be."

It felt like a dam had opened at his words and she couldn't stop the tears that fell. She felt herself pulled from her seat and his arms wrapping themselves around her holding her close to his chest.

"Let it out, I've got you." He whispered into her hair.

She held onto him tightly, he was the closest thing she had to Bond; his name caused more tears to fall, the sounds muffled by his chest.

He held her as she wept; never judging. From the sounds of it, It seemed that she needed this for a while. He felt his shirt getting wet from her tears, but he didn't care, he only cared for the woman grieving in his arms. Even though he only knew her for a few hours, he felt a connection to her, maybe because she was identical to his own M.

Her tears finally subsided, but she didn't leave his embrace taking in the comfort he was offering. She felt him place at the side of her temple, causing her to pull back and look at him. He brought removed one of his arms from around her, his hand cupping her face, as he gently caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. Olivia felt herself leaning into his soothing touch.

He had no idea what possessed him to do it, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, feeling her tense at first before relaxing and started to respond. He pulled her closer to him, her body pressed tightly against his. Never would he think about kissing his boss, except this wasn't his boss.

She let out a moan, as his tongue made quick work of exploring her mouth, she could feel her heart beating loudly in her ears, her hands found their way into his hair gently pulling on the strands causing him to let out a moan of his own. Time seemed to catch up with her. Realising what she was doing, she abruptly pulled away, breaking the kiss and stepping out of his embrace trying to create some distance between them.

She was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath; she shouldn't have allowed that to happen. Looking over to him, she noticed he was in a similar state as her. She couldn't allow it to happen again.

"Olivia…"

"This shouldn't have happened. It was unprofessional."

"It wasn't your fault, but I think we need to talk about this."

"There is nothing to talk about, it was a mistake. We were caught up in the moment, that's all. Anything else is irrelevant."

James shook his head in disbelief, "Is that what you really believe? I for one don't buy it for a second."

Olivia tried to look anywhere other than him.

"This meeting is over 007, I had better get back to what I was doing, and no doubt Barbara will be waiting for you."

He knew he would get nowhere tonight, but he couldn't just ignore this, if anything for the first time he was as confused as she was. It just felt right when he held her in his arms, her presence filling his senses and for the first time he felt complete.

For now he would wait, he didn't want to push her, she knew as well as he did there was something more behind that kiss other than being caught up in the moment. He walked towards the door of her office, hesitating before he turned to look back at her.

"I'm not going to let this go Olivia."

"Then you're going to have to learn to 007."

She retook her seat and focused her attention back on her laptop like he found her earlier. Letting out a sigh, he left her to it.

Olivia's brain was going into overdrive; she couldn't get that kiss out of her head no matter what she tried. Then there was the matter with Barbara, she didn't know how she would be able to look at other woman again without her knowing what had happened. Her words from when she first arrived in her office played over her mind.

She stared once again at the picture of Bond, his face staring back accusingly. Her conscience was now filled with what she could only describe as guilt. She and Bond weren't in a relationship, but it felt as if she had cheated on him with his doppelganger when Bond himself was only declared dead mere hours before. She always said regret is unprofessional, but the regret she felt about not knowing what a relationship with Bond would have been like would stay with her for years to come.

Trying to push the thoughts to the back of her mind, she focused on finishing his obituary, and then she would prepare for this bloody meeting. She won't leave until this mess is over with, she refused to let Bond's death be in vain.


	6. Chapter 6

Olivia finally finished Bond's obituary and saved the file. There was still the process of putting his active status to deceased, but it was too soon. She still couldn't wrap her brain round the past few hours.

Powering down her laptop, she grabbed her bag and coat before heading to find Barbara and 007. If they were going to be sticking around the least she could do is offer them a place to stay.

Walking down the corridor she spotted Tanner, speaking with the both of them, only to stop when he saw her approach.

"Don't stop on my account."

"I was just informing our guests that I'll arrange a place to stay for them."

"That won't be necessary Tanner, they can stay with me until this mess is dealt with."

"You don't have to do that." Barbara made to protest.

"It's the least, I can do. You can take the spare room, if 007 doesn't mind taking the couch."

"That's fine." He tried to catch Olivia's eye, but she refused to look at him.

"Very well ma'am if you are sure. I'll have Ross bring the car round for you."

"Thank you Tanner."

Olivia motioned for the both of them to follow Tanner, feeling 007's eyes on her as he walked past. She took a few deep breaths and followed after them. She often wondered how she gets herself into these types of situations.

Reaching the garage, she noticed Ross waiting by the car, his face in confusion at seeing both Barbara and 007 approaching him, but decided not to question it.

"Tanner, I need you to be ready tomorrow morning nine sharp. We have a meeting in Whitehall with Mallory."

"This ought to be interesting ma'am."

"Quite, I think this is exactly a situation they have waited for to finally get rid of me."

"What? They wouldn't do that…"

"They would Tanner. I haven't exactly been their favourite person over the years."

"Maybe not, but they can't deny you have done more for his organisation than they bloody give you credit for."

She gave him a sad smile. "Perhaps, but they won't see it like that. I can't do this job forever Tanner. The events of the past twenty four hours more or less proved that."

"You may not be able to do it forever ma'am, but you have a few years left in you yet." Tanner told her with confidence.

"You're a good man Tanner. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll always have your back ma'am."

"I appreciate that. Goodnight Tanner."

Tanner watched as she got into the car. Ross closing the door behind her. If Mallory thought he would be getting rid of her without a fight he could think again.

/*\*/*\

**Calis Beach, Fethiye, Turkey**

Bond awoke to the sound of the waves in the distance and the feel of a soft mattress under him. He tried to recall what had happened, then he remembered his doppelganger shooting him. So much for Barbara claiming he was the best she had. Bastard could have fooled him.

Opening his eyes, he noticed he was in a hut of sorts, nothing too extravagant by the looks of things. He tried to move into a sitting position, letting out a moan in pain as he jarred his shoulder. Looking down, he noticed his shirt was gone and the wound bandaged.

"I was wondering when you would wake brother."

The American voice caused him to smile.

"You know me Felix." He turned to the other man giving him a smirk which came out more as a grimace.

"What are you doing here? I wasn't aware the CIA was interested in a stolen hard drive from six?"

"We're not. The CIA servers have been hacked. Our men traced the signal here. So, they sent me. Which for your benefit you were lucky brother."

"Did they get any information?"

"No, but who's to say they won't try again. When I heard you were in town, I kept track of you. You may want to get a new partner by the way. Not a good shot."

"He's not my partner. He's me. Well another version of me." He stood up, holding his shoulder moving it in small circles.

"Perhaps, I should have checked for a concussion as well. Another version?"

"Long story. I'll tell you later. I need to get back to six."

Felix handed him two pills and water. "You're not going anywhere today brother. That bullet is still in you."

"I'll have it removed back in London. I've had worse."

Felix shook his head at his stubbornness. "I'll see about getting you arrangements for tomorrow."

"I appreciate that."

"You may want to call that boss of yours though."

Bond gave him a dirty look. "She can wait. She should have trusted me to get the job done."

Felix gave a smirk, "You have it bad brother."

"What are talking about?"

"Your boss. M isn't it? How long?"

"There is nothing between me and M."

Felix put his hands up in a peace offering. "If you say so. At least let the woman know you are alive."

"Drop it Felix. I'll call her tomorrow."

"On your head be it. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Bond raised an eyebrow, "Since when do you know how M would react?"

"The amount of times she has put the fear of God in my superiors, is almost comical. I hope your government realises they're lucky to have someone like her."

James gave a scoff at that statement, "If only. They only see her as a hindrance, with favourites apparently."

"No doubt you being one of them." Felix couldn't help but add with a smirk.

"Since, you will be here for a few more hours, get dressed. There's a bar just down the beach."

"Best bloody news I've heard." Bond mumbled, putting on the clean shirt that was left on the chair next to the bed.

Felix watched him with a thoughtful expression, he knew James was making a mistake by not informing M he was alive, but it was his decision. He just hoped he could live with the consequences of his actions in doing so.

/*\*/*\

Ross pulled the car outside Olivia's house, killing the engine. She felt the chill of the night air hit her as Barbara opened her car door and got out of the car with 007 following suit from the passenger side. Giving a sigh, she gave Ross a small thanks as he helped her from the car.

"I'll see you tomorrow ma'am. "

"Goodnight Ross."

She walked to where her guests were standing informing them to follow her. She had decided to move after the death of her late husband. Her old penthouse apartment had too many memories, that seemed to suffocate her whenever, she came back from the office.

She took her keys from her bag and quickly opened the door.

"After you."

She watched as Barbara and 007 cautiously made her way into her home no doubt feeling as if they were intruding.

Closing and locking the door behind her, she turned on the hall light, and made her way down the hall and into the room on the right, turning on the lamp.

"Make yourself at home. Can I get you a drink?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any Jack Daniel's would you?" Barbara asked.

"I prefer Macallan."

007 gave a smirk at how similar she sounded to Barbara when she had debriefed him about General Ouromov during the Goldeneye fiasco.

"That's fine." Barbara told her, looking around the room, taking the cream sofas and walls, one of which hanged a gold framed mirror above the fireplace. It was very modern she had to admit.

Olivia handed one of the glasses to Barbara who gave her a smile of thanks.

"Is it only you that lives here?"

"Yes. I stayed in a penthouse before here with my husband. But after he died I needed a place without the memories."

Olivia handed the other glass to 007. His hands brushing hers as he took the glass. She felt goosebumps across her skin and quickly retracted her hand, picking up her own glass she took a swift drink to calm herself.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." She finished the rest of her drink in one swallow and placed the empty glass on the table.

"I'll show you where you will be sleeping. We could do with some rest."

Barbara finished her own drink depositing the glass next to Olivia's one and followed her out into the hall and to the second door on the right.

"It never gets used, but I think it should be comfortable enough."

Once the light was switched on the room was similar to the living room, the only difference was the double bed in the center and dresser in the corner.

"My room is to the left of yours, and the bathroom is to the right. I'll go and get you some night clothes. We should be the same size."

"I appreciate this."

"I hope you would do the same for me if our situations were reversed. I'll be back in a moment."

Barbara gave a nod and watched her go. She may have judged the other woman harshly earlier, but maybe she wouldn't be too bad to be around after all. Olivia came back a few minutes later with a pair of silver silk pyjamas, handing them over to her which Barbra took gratefully.

"Will you be alright tomorrow?"

"I'll be fine. Nothing I can't handle." Olivia informed her.

"I know. But if you need time, I could go in your place. They would be none the wiser."

"As much as I would like to say yes. This is not your fight."

"You keep saying that, but as of now we are apart of this. Whether you like it or not Olivia."

Olivia knew she had a point, but letting the other woman take the blunt of Mallory's anger wasn't something she would allow.

"Look, if I go tomorrow, that gives you one less thing for you to deal with. Mr. Tanner can fill me in on last minute details. This Mallory is not the first bureaucrat I've had to deal with. As you well know."

"Alright, but keep your temper In check even if he does make you want to slap him. I don't need physical abuse added to my already growing list of things they hold against me."

"Very well. I'll try to keep my anger in check. Anything else?"

"If he gives you the retirement spiel. Tell him where to shove it."

"Done."

Olivia hoped she was making the right decision. "Tanner will be here around eight. The meeting is at nine. The rest should be straightforward."

"When has anything in our line of work been straightforward?" Barbara raised an eyebrow.

"Fair point. I'll let you get some sleep, no doubt you'll need it. I'll wake you at seven. That should give you enough time to get ready."

Olivia made her way to leave only to stop in her tracks when the other woman called her name.

"I apologise for the way I treated you earlier. It was undignified."

Olivia turned and gave her a small smile. "Apology accepted. And for what it's worth. I'm sorry too."

She continued on her way closing the door behind her. Picking up the set of her late husbands pyjamas she headed towards the living room, to see 007 sitting on the sofa, staring at the wall in front of him.

"These are the best I could find." She placed them on the arm of the sofa.

"They'll be fine. Olivia- about earlier."

"I told you I didn't want to discuss this. Throw is on the couch. I'll see you in the morning."

She was about to leave, when his hand on her arm stopped her.

"Let me go 007."

"No, not until we talk about us."

Her icy blue eyes found his. "There is no us! It was a mistake! There is nothing to discuss!"

"So, you didn't feel anything!? Because your actions told a different story, Olivia!"

"And you're full of yourself! Now release me!"

"Is it because I'm not him? Is that it?"

"You're delusional!"

"Am I? Because the way I see it, he was the main topic of discussion beforehand!"

She took a few deep breaths trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Tell me you didn't feel anything and I'll let it go." He pleaded with her.

Olivia closed her eyes, knowing it would be a lie. She did feel something in that moment, and the thought scared her. But she couldn't deny she had wished it was someone else instead.

"You can't can you?"

She re-opened her eyes, feeling him softly caress her face with his hand as she looked towards him.

"Even if I did, you will eventually leave. You don't belong here 007. This isn't your world. And you are not my James."

"Olivia…"

"I've said all there is to be said on the matter. Now if you would kindly let me go I have a busy day tomorrow and I would rather go to work with a clear head!"

He let go of her arm and watching as she quickly made her way towards her bedroom. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He had never got this worked up over a woman, let alone a carbon copy of his boss. He didn't know how he could work with her when all he wanted to do was kiss her with an inch of his life and never let her go. He knew the coming days would test his self control. Yet he couldn't help but feel that he had already failed.


	7. Chapter 7

Olivia tossed and turned, willing herself to get some sleep, but each time she closed her eyes, she kept thinking about what would happen in the coming days. She may not even have a job in the next few weeks, then what would she do? She couldn't exactly live a normal life. Well, what remained of it anyways.

There was no one. Her husband was gone, at least he used to be able to take her mind off work despite him not knowing any details. Then there was Bond. Despite him breaking into her apartment on a daily basis at least he was there to distract her from her loneliness. Even more so during the weeks of her husband passing. Now she didn't even have that. She was alone.

Hearing 007 move around in the living room wasn't helping matters either. It was a constant reminder that he was still alive, and Bond wasn't. She meant what she said when she didn't blame him. Even if she had sent another agent with Bond, the situation could have turned out the same. He was right on one assumption, he did work better on his own.

Turning on her side away from the door, she pulled the covers up to her neck as she felt her eyes start to water as she thought about Bond. She recalled the minister telling her on more than one occasion that she was sentimental over him, but she just ignored the jibe. Or rather she didn't want to admit it to herself. She looked out for all her agents, she didn't believe in favourites. Yet there was no denying Bond was exactly that. It was only now that she realised there was a deeper meaning behind her actions towards him and it took his doppelganger to make her realise.

As much as she enjoyed 007's arms around her, it was Bond who she couldn't help but imagine that was holding her. Kissing her. Now look where that got her. The way he spoke to her from their little confrontation in the living room, she had a feeling if she had asked him to stay then he would. However, she meant what she said he didn't belong here. He belonged with Barbara, he was her agent not hers.

The knock at her bedroom door, caused her to sit up knowing fine well who was on the other side. Against her better judgement, she decided to answer it. If he was anything like her Bond he wouldn't stop until she did. Switching on the lamp, she grabbed her robe from the bottom of the bed and put it on, tying the belt at the side of her waist.

Another knock caused her to narrow her eyes. If he woke Barbara she would kill him. It was bad enough the woman didn't know about what happened at the office she didn't need to catch 007 knocking at her bedroom door in the early hours of the morning.

Opening the door, she saw James standing in the doorway barefoot and shirtless, wearing only the pyjama bottoms she had given him.

"What can I do for you now 007?"

"How long?"

"What..."

"How long have you had feelings for your Bond?"

"I didn't." She denied.

"And even if I did. It is no concern of yours." She attempted to keep her voice low.

"Now why don't I believe that?"

"Believe what you want. But I would appreciate it if you did it somewhere else rather than in my bedroom doorway." She hissed.

"Alright." He brushed past her so he was fully inside her room.

"Is this better?"

"You are trying your luck here 007!"

"Well, it's either in here or we wake Barbara. What's it to be?"

Olivia closed the door and turned to face the insufferable man in front of her.

"What do you want?"

"Let's start with the truth."

"I can't tell you the truth, because I don't exactly know what I felt for Bond. I cared for him. I probably cared for him more than a superior should for their agent! He was there when I needed him after my husband passed, even if he wasn't aware of it! He would break into my apartment, drink my best scotch and it made coming home from the office a bit more bearable." She took a step towards him.

"Do you know what it's like to lose a spouse 007? It slowly eats you from the inside out, knowing the one man who I had been married to and was by my side for the past twenty-five years was suddenly gone! He was the only person who I had outside of work that actually gave a damn about how I was feeling! He gave me normalcy!"

"Olivia…"

"I'm not done! You wanted to know if I had feelings for Bond? Then my answer is yes I did! I guess those feelings for him were always there, but it took my husband dying, and tonight to bloody realise that! And right now it doesn't really matter if I did, does it 007? Because now he is gone! And I'm once again left to deal with a still missing hard-drive, two dead agents and a vigilante who seems to enjoy hacking into our servers! Not to mention a bureaucratic bastard breathing down my neck! There is no one left, who actually gives a damn about me!" My husband's gone! Bond's gone! I'm alone 007!"

She could feel her eyes sting with unshed tears as he stood there, looking at her with sadness, which made a wave of anger shoot through her. She didn't need his pity.

"Do you want to know why I responded when you kissed me? It was because I wanted to believe you were Bond! It was him I wanted, not you!"

She waited for any reaction from him at her admission, but there was nothing.

"Now you know! You can forget all about this idea, you have that there is something between us!"

"If only it were that easy Olivia!" He took a few steps forward so he was in her personal space.

"Of course it's bloody easy! Why wouldn't it be!?" You seemed to forget all about all those other women you have been with! So why is this any different?!"

"Because the thought of leaving you is unbearable. You said it yourself you have no one now!"

"And, what? You believe you can be that someone?"

She saw the adamant look on his face and knew he was serious.

"Yes, if you would bloody let me?"

"What about Barbara? You're her agent! What if she ever needs you? What then?"

"I'm sure she would be pleased to see the back of me!"

Olivia scoffed at is obtuse attitude. "If you think that then you really aren't as smart as she gives you credit for!"

"She doesn't need me. She never has!"

"So, what? If I asked you to stay, you would give everything up in your world to be here with me?!"

"In a heartbeat."

"We barely know each other! It would never work! You're delusional to think otherwise!"

She turned away from him feeling tired all of a sudden.

"You're right, we don't. But are you not even willing to give us a chance? You don't have to be alone anymore Olivia."

"Don't I?" She said with resentment, looking at him over her shoulder.

"No." He told her softly. "But it's only you, who decides if you want to be."

"I don't know what I want, because either way you look at it. The outcome would eventually be the same."

She turned back to face him. "You would leave eventually. As soon as a younger woman comes along or if you are killed during a mission. You can't stand there and tell me you would be there for me, when you don't know for definite you will."

"Is it not worth the risk? Yes there is much to lose. But there is just as much to gain."

"Is there? Because quite frankly I don't see it that way."

"At least think about it?"

She narrowed her eyes, "If I say yes will you let me get some sleep?"

"Yes"

She gave a sigh of frustration. "Alright, but I'm not promising you anything. And I want you to promise me that if I say no, we leave it at that. You will not pester me or talk about this again. Do I make myself clear?"

He merely nodded, agreeing with her terms.

"Good. Now you had best leave."

"Are you sure that's really what you want?" He cupped her face in both of his hands as he stared into her eyes.

"Yes." It didn't sound convincing to her own ears.

His presence was slowly dulling the ache she was currently feeling, but she couldn't allow him to stay. He was already testing her resolve, which was slowly crumbling.

"I don't believe you. If you really wanted me to leave, you would have pulled away from me by now." He traced her bottom lip with his thumb.

"So, I'll ask you again. Do you want me to leave?"

All she had to say was 'yes', and the matter would be the settled, but all rationale seemed to have deserted her.

"No." It came out as a whisper.

It seemed that it was the answer he wanted to hear as he lowered his face towards her with exquisite slowness, allowing her to retreat should she change her mind. As she felt his lips on hers she curled her hand around the back of his neck, she kissed him back. His mouth kissing her hungrily, coaxing her lips apart as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth causing her to let out a moan.

She felt one of his hands trail down the front of her chest, brushing over her breast until he reached the belt of her robe. The feel of him surrounding her, was distracting, she couldn't seem to think as he started to trailing soft kisses along the curve of her jaw. It was only when she felt her robe coming undone, that she pushed him away.

He looked at her confused as her hands fumbled with her belt.

"Olivia…"

She re-tied the knot on her robe, trying to compose herself before looking at him. Her face was flushed, and lips slightly swollen.

"I'm not ready for anything else 007."

He could understand where she was coming from. It was new territory for him, as well as her.

"I apologise." He wanted to reach out to touch her, bur decided against it.

"I think we need some ground rules before we do something we will later regret." Olivia crossed her arms over her chest.

"That seems fair. What do you propose?"

"Firstly, you treat me the same as you do Barbara. Secondly, we do not initiate any intimate contact during working hours and thirdly. We go at my pace. If I tell you to leave, then you leave. It's not up for discussion."

"Anything else?"

"If I decide I don't want anything between us, you go back with Barbara. I don't want you staying here with me, even if we end up as acquaintances."

"I told you…"

"I know what you told me. How Barbara doesn't need you? She does. Trust me. I thought the same thing about Bond. I often wished that if he was gone, then my job would be easier." She gave him a sad smile.

"I guess that wish finally came true. It's only when someone who was always there is now gone. You finally realise how much you needed them in your life. So my final rule is this 007. Don't put her through, what I'm currently going through. She may act like she doesn't care, but she does. More than you realise."

"I don't really have a choice do I?"

"No. I will not be the sole reason as to why she lost her best agent."

"You know... I really hate it when you are the voice of reason."

"Well one of us needs to be." She moved round to the other side of her bed and got back under the covers, looking over to him.

"If you are still staying you need to be out of my room before Barbara wakes up."

"I can manage that." He got into the bed next to her, watching as she switched off the lamp and felt her moving to get comfortable.

He moved closer to her, until his chest was flushed against her back. His arm wrapping itself around her body just below her chest holding her in a tight embrace.

"Is this alright?" He asked, pressing a kiss on her covered shoulder.

She finally felt herself relax. "Yes."

"Get some sleep. I won't leave you until you tell me to."

She let her eyes close and imagined it was Bond who was with her holding her in a tight embrace. The thought for now would give her some comfort until she had to return to reality. At least for a few hours she would be content in knowing she wasn't alone.


	8. Chapter 8

Olivia awoke to the sound of her alarm, causing her to let out a groan at the insufferable noise. Opening her eyes, she turned it off, hearing shuffling coming from the spare room, suddenly remembering the events from the day before. She looked behind her to see the spot 007 had occupied a few hours earlier was cold and empty. She didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed he didn't wake her beforehand. It was probably better he didn't. She would rather stay in bed than face the day ahead, but she had never been one to run away from her troubles. She would see this through to the end even if it killed her in the process.

Throwing back the covers, she made her way towards the bathroom deciding a shower may help her to think straight. Her two guests could wait.

/*\*/*\

Barbara made her way through to the living room, only to see 007 passed out on the couch snoring, with his mouth slightly parted. She rolled her eyes, and made the decision to see what Olivia had in her kitchen. She may as well repay the woman somehow for letting them stay.

Browsing the fridge and cupboards, she looked for anything to make a decent meal, but it seemed the woman hadn't been shopping in a while. Taking the cheese, eggs and mushrooms from the fridge she decided to make omlettes'. If she had to face bureaucrats first thing in the morning she was going with a full stomach.

She spent the next few minutes trying to find the oil, a bowl and a frying pan. Finally finding them, she noticed the frying pan still looked quite new, hardly ever been used. She wondered if the other woman ever cooked for herself. Deciding to ask her about it later, she quickly made a start on breakfast.

/*\*/*\

007 awoke to the smell of someone cooking, and couldn't help but smile. It was either Olivia or Barbara and he had to admit the thought of either women cooking sounded quite appealing in his mind. Deciding to see who it was he stood up and stretched, before heading in the direction where the smell was coming from. Standing in the doorway, he saw Barbara standing over the cooker still in the pyjama's Olivia had given her.

"I didn't know making your agents breakfast was in your job description."

Barbara turned to see him smirking in the doorway. "It won't be a long term thing I'll tell you that right now 007."

"Mores the pity." He walked fully into the room and sat down on one of the dining chairs continuing to watch her.

He studied his boss, recalling the conversation he had with Olivia last night. He wondered if she would miss him if he made the decision to stay in this world or if she wouldn't even bat an eyelid. He watched her search the above cupboards, probably looking for plates.

"Need a hand?"

"I can manage."

He tapped his fingers on the table, as she finally located the plates. As she reached up, her pyjama top rose slightly exposing her back. His face frowned when he saw the bruising marring her skin.

"What happened?"

"What?" She turned to look at him, plates in hand.

"The bruising on your back?"

She looked away from him and set the plates on the counter. "It's nothing."

He narrowed his eyes and walked towards her. "It's not nothing Barbara."

"Everyone gets bruises I thought you of all people would ought to have known that." She transferred the omlette onto one of the plates.

"Mines are due to missions, what's your excuse?"

"If you must know I took a tumble down the stairs a few weeks ago. Nothing serious." She added more egg and mushroom mix to the frying pan.

"Just a tumble?"

"What are you getting at 007?"

"Did your husband push you?"

"No! He didn't. He wasn't even there when it happened. He hasn't been for some time."

"I thought…"

"You thought wrong 007. We are currently going through a divorce."

"But at the office you told Bond and I quote _'I have a husband who I love dearly.'_

"Technically he still is and I do still love him. However, I'm not in love with him. Not anymore. We both decided that it was the right course of action to take. That way we can both move on with our lives."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because- it's no ones business bar mine. And if you so ever tell anyone what I've just told you it will be your last." She pointed the egg lifter at him.

"So you're falling down the stairs…"

"Was really a falling down the stairs. Nothing more." She turned back to the frying pan and flipped the omlette.

He was thankful for that at least. The thought of anyone harming her cut him to the core. He could see where Olivia was coming from. If the time came, could he really leave her.

"Good you're both up."

They both turned to see Olivia dressed in a fitted three piece black skirt suit complimented by a white blouse underneath the suit jacket and sensible black heels.

"You look radiant this morning." 007 eyed her up with a smile.

Olivia ignored him and turned to Barbara. "What are you making?"

"Omlettes. I hope you don't mind, but I thought we should least have something before facing the day."

"It's fine. I usually eat at the office." She walked over and switched on the kettle.

"I've left a suit out for you on your bed." She informed Barbara.

"I'm afraid you will have to reuse yours 007 until I can have Tanner pick you up a new one."

"That's fine." He took one of the plates from the counter looking around for the cutlery.

Olivia shook her head and opened the drawer to her right, taking out three forks and knifes, handing one of each to him.

"Thank you."

She watched amused, as he began to dig in to the omlette.

"Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee for me." He told her his mouth full of omlette.

"Charming." She rolled her eyes.

"I'll have a tea, milk no sugar."

"Same as me then." Olivia was trying to hide a smirk.

Once drinks and food had been made and eaten, Olivia let 007 and Barbara get ready while she washed the dishes. They had forty-five minutes before Tanner was due to arrive to take Barbara to the meeting. She hoped the other woman didn't mess anything up for her.

The knock at her door caused her to frown. Closing the dishwasher, she headed towards the front door, noticing 007 was nearly already there.

"It seems your chief of staff is overly punctual." He gave her a smirk as he unlocked the door moving aside to let Tanner in.

"Is she ready?" Tanner asked him.

"Just about."

Tanner looked towards Olivia with a contrite look on his face.

"I just received a message that Mallory has moved the meeting forward. We have fifteen minutes to get there."

"I'll bloody kill him."

"May want to do that after we arrive at Whitehall ma'am."

"I'm not going."

"What do you mean you're not going? This is what he's hoping for?"

"I'm sorry Tanner I didn't make myself clear. What I meant was, I won't be accompanying you."

"Then who…"

"That would be me Mr. Tanner. Shall we go?"

Tanner looked towards Barbara, seeing her dressed in a navy dress suit with a determined look on her face.

"Are you sure about this ma'am?" He looked to Olivia.

"It will be fine Tanner. Just fill her in on the way there, the rest she can do by herself."

Tanner still looked unconvinced, it was a risky move to take.

"And what about you ma'am?"

"Ross is picking me up at the usual time to take myself and 007 to headquarters. I still need to go through the process of removing Bond from our system and figure out what to do with his personal possessions."

She was trying to keep her voice steady, but 007 picked up on the sadness he could hear when she said his name.

"Very well ma'am. I'll see you back at headquarters. Hopefully this meeting shouldn't take too long."

Olivia gave him a nod, and looked to Barbara. "Just do what you normally do and remember what I told you."

"Not to physically harm him, and tell him where to shove his retirement spiel."

007 sniggered at imagining Barbara slapping a bureaucrat, even though he wouldn't put it past her. He had seen her temper first hand. If this Mallory ever came to blows with her, God help him.

"You had best go before you're late."

Barbara took a deep breath and followed after Tanner, only to stop when she felt 007's hand on her arm.

"Good luck. Not that you'll need it."

"And don't you forget it 007." She gave him a faint smirk as she shut the door behind her.

He turned to Olivia, grin still in place. "Looks like, it's just the two of us."

"Congratulations on being able to count 007. Now instead of standing there, you might want to finish getting ready."

"Yes ma'am."

She rolled her eyes and made her way back into the kitchen, not in the mood for his antics.

/*\*/*\

On the way to Whitehall, Tanner handed Barbara the file he had organised earlier.

"Everything you need to know is in there."

She began to flick through the file quickly skimming over the details. "How long has Mallory been breathing down her neck?"

"Not long, there has been talks he is next in line to replace M once she retires."

"So, he will try to get her out of the picture as quickly as possible."

"Pretty much. Which is why you can't allow that to happen."

"No pressure then."

"Look if she says you can do this, then you can."

The car came to a stop outside Whitehall. Tanner getting out first, with Barbara following behind him. Keeping the file in her hand, they walked up the stone steps, and through the main doors only to be met with security scanners.

Stepping through, she waited for Tanner to empty his pockets before meeting her on the other side. Taking the lift to the fourth floor, Tanner took the file from her as the lift doors opened. They had a few minutes to spare, as Tanner informed the receptionist they were here for their appointment telling Barbara to go through.

"Good luck." He murmured.

She merely nodded and made her way to the oak door and entered without knocking.

"You wanted to see me?"

"M. I didn't think you would make it. Please take a seat."

"She sat herself on one of the chairs as Mallory walked round from behind his desk.

"Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, it's a bit early in the morning for me. Look let's cut to the chase shall we? I have a lot of work to be getting on with."

"Very well." He took the chair across from her and leaned back crossing his legs as he looked at her.

"I have to be frank with you M."

"I think that would be a very good idea."

"The Prime Minister is concerned."

She felt her eye twitch. "Well, you can tell him my operatives are pursuing every avenue."

"Have you considered pulling out the agents?"

"I have considered every option." She informed him trying to keep her voice level.

"Forgive me, but that sounds like an evasion."

"Forgive me, but why am I here?"

"Yesterday, you lost the computer drive containing the identity of almost every NATO agent embedded in terrorist organisations across the globe. A list by which in the names of our allies never existed. So, if you will forgive me. I think you know why you are here."

"Are we to call this civilian oversight?"

"No. We are to call this retirement planning."

She narrowed her eyes, "I might have known."

"Your country has the highest respect for your many years of service. When your current posting is completed you will be awarded GMCG with full honours. Congratulations."

"So in other words you're firing me? Is that it?"

"No ma'am I am merely here to oversee the transition period leading to your voluntary retirement in two months time."

She curled her hands into fists, trying to keep her anger in check that she could feel building to the surface.

"Your successor has yet to be appointed so…"

She had heard enough and stood up. "Let's cut the pleasantries! We both know who will be next in line! I'm not an idiot Mallory! I know I can't do this job forever, but I'll be damned if I'm going to leave the department in worse shape than I found it."

"M. You've had a great run. You should leave with dignity."

She gave a hollow laugh, "Dignity? To hell with bloody dignity! I'll leave when the jobs done. And I can tell you right now that won't be for another few years. So, you can take your retirement planning and tell the minister where to shove it. If you think I'm leaving without a fight you can think again. Good day Mallory."

She turned on her heel and left his office. She had never met a more stuck up bastard in her life.

"Mr. Tanner, We're going."

Tanner stood up and called the lift.

"How did it go?"

"The same as always." She told him through clenched teeth as she made her way into the lift.

"How Olivia deals with that man I'll never know!"

"That bad?"

"They want her to take voluntary retirement with full honours. I informed them where to shove their bloody retirement planning. If he thinks he's taking over, he's got another thing coming."

The lift doors opened and Barbara quickly walked out of the building, not wanting to stay longer than she had done. Tanner gave a smirk as he ran to catch up with her. It seemed Olivia's risk paid off afterall.

/*\*/*\

Olivia and 007 made their way through MI6 to her office, noticing at least six agents we working on finding the hard drive.

Making her way over to her desk, she took off her coat and placed it on the coat rack along with her bag. She wondered how the meeting was going with Mallory. Powering up her computer, she watched as 007 took a seat on one of the chairs in front of her desk. She ignored him and brought up Bond's file, trying not to look at his picture as she quickly changed his status to deceased. Saving the changes she closed the file. It was final. He wouldn't be coming back. Not this time.

007 watched her as she tried to hide her heartache, wanting nothing more than to offer her some comfort. He looked at the bulldog on her desk noticing it was facing inwards instead of outwards like yesterday.

"Did you move your bulldog?"

She looked at him confused, "What?"

Olivia looked to the figurine, seeing it staring towards her.

"No."

He stood up and and scanned the room on alert. He ignored Olivia's protests, as he saw a red light flashing on one of the desks counting down from one minute. Quickly scanning the others he noticed the same sort of device.

"Everyone out of here now!"

He pulled Olivia from her seat, as he tried to drag her from the office as the other agents made to exit the room.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"You're office is littered with explosives! Now come on!"

Taking his word for it she lets him drag her from her office. They has just reached the exit when Olivia heard a resounding boom behind her. Feeling the heat on her back, she was propelled forwards slamming into the wall and falling to the ground feeling debris and shards of glass falling on top of her. She could faintly hear the sound of the fire alarm through the ringing in her ears.

Olivia felt her eyes water as she looked at her once pristine office that was now covered in thick black smoke and debris. She lifted her head, letting out a moan as she tried to clear the black spots from her vision. Her senses were overcome with the smell of smoke causing a series of coughs to overtake her body.

Pulling herself up, she gave a whimper in pain, feeling a heavy weight holding her in place. Turning slightly, she noticed the lower half of her body was covered with a mix of concrete and twisted metal. Gritting her teeth, she tried to pull herself free trying not to think about any possible injuries she may have. Her first priority was to get herself out of the building.

Looking around the area next to her, she tried to see any sign of 007. She refused to believe she had lost him as well, not when she had just lost Bond. She continued to try and pull herself free when another hacking cough over took her body, causing her lungs burn as the smoke continued to irritate her lungs.

Laying herself back on the ground, she felt all energy leave her. She couldn't see herself making it out of this one alive. Resigned to her fate, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift to the one person that meant a great deal to her. She decided If Bond wasn't coming back to her, perhaps she could go to him.

/*\*/*\

Tanner and Barbara were just approaching Vauxhall Bridge, when they saw the disturbance up ahead. The car came to a stop, as a police officer approached them.

'For God sake." Barbara muttered getting out the car.

'You're going to have to turn back. We've received a call that there is a terrorist threat."

Tanner came next to them about to ask what he was talking about when a loud explosion reached his ears, seeing M's office go up in smoke.

Pulling out his phone, he dialled her number, praying she or 007 weren't in there. He lets out a curse, when there was no answer.

"I need to get in that building." Tanner informed the officer.

"I'm sorry sir, I can't allow you to do that."

"I don't give a damn what you can or can't allow! Now, take us to the God damn building!" Barbara ordered the officer.

"Unless you have proper clearance you are going to have to turn back."

"Proper clearance? Do you not bloody recognise, the car?"

She watched as the officer debated with himself on whether or not to allow them to passed.

"Alright, I can get you near the entrance, but that's as far as you're both going."

"Fine."

"Follow me."

The followed after the officer. Tanner looking at her every now and again to try to read what she was thinking, but her face was a blank mask.

"Now I know how Olivia feels." She mumbled quietly to herself, but Tanner still heard her.

"They'll be fine. They have to be."

The sound of Tanner's phone ringing caused him to quickly pull it out of his pocket to see an unknown number calling. Answering it, Barbara watched as he stopped in his tracks with a look of disbelief on his face.

/*\*/*\

**Calis Beach, Fethiye, Turkey**

Bond let out a moan, when he heard someone calling his name, making his headache ten times worse. God he felt awful. Between the headache and the stupid bullet wound, he felt like death warmed over.

"What is it Felix?" It came out as a grumble.

"You need to see this."

"Can't it wait?"

"If you call what the news is detailing a terrorist attack on MI6, then by all means brother. It can wait."

He ignored the nausea he felt, as he quickly sat up watching as Felix turned the TV screen towards him. James felt a lump in his throat as he saw the smoke billowing from her office.

"Felix, give me your phone."

He grabbed it from the table and tossed it to James.

Entering Tanner's number, he waited for the other man to answer.

"Was she in there?"

**_"Yes."_**

At Tanner's simple answer, James felt his heart and world shatter.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

...

007 woke to a loud buzzing in his ears and the faint sound of an alarm in the distance. He pushed himself on to his elbows, coughing slightly from the movement. Opening his eyes, he saw the surrounding area; covered in smoke and debris, but no Olivia. Feeling panic build within him, he prayed she was still alive, she had to be. He would never forgive himself otherwise. With a groan he pulled himself up, wincing from the pain, that he could feel radiate through his side and shoulder.

Pushing it aside, he made it to his feet, black spots clouding his vision. Holding his injured arm, he blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the area. Not that it helped much due to the the thick clouds of dust and smoke causing it to create a thick smog that filled the room. He saw sparks emit from one of the lights that were hanging from the ceiling as he started to cautiously look around for Olivia.

With each step he took the pain in his side was starting to throb. Stopping, he placed his hand the source of the pain, feeling a warm liquid around the area. Gently probing the wound he felt for any object that may have embedded itself into him. Not that he could do much if there was anything in the wound.

"Olivia!" He called out coughing as dust entered his lungs. Probably not the best idea he mentally thought to himself once he got his coughing under control.

Continuing to walk his feet, came in contact with something hard. Looking down he could just make out a dust covered body. Bending down, he reached out his good arm to search for a pulse. Feeling none, he stood back up and continued on. He wondered if any of the other agents were still alive, there was a chance, but his main priority was Olivia.

As he pushed on a thousand thoughts entered his mind wondering if and how badly injured she was, or even if she was still alive. He shook the latter thought from his mind not wanting to think about the worse case scenario.

Walking further around the room, he saw a mass of debris covering a body. Feeling his heart pounding in his chest he quickened his pace. As he got closer he could make out the familiar small frame unmoving.

Ignoring his injuries he kneeled down next to her, reaching out his fingers towards her neck. _'Please be there.'_ He prayed silently. She had to live. He couldn't lose her. Not yet.

/*\*/*\

**Calis Beach, Fethiye ~ Turkey**

James tossed the phone on the bed and quickly got out of bed and started to dress.

"Get me that plane Felix! I need to get back to London!"

"James…"

"Just do it Felix! She was bloody in that building!" He looked at him with annoyance and desperation.

Felix merely nodded at seeing the worry show on James' face. It was obvious he had feelings for his boss, even if he does try to suppress them. "Consider it done, brother."

James continued to dress, wincing as his shoulder pulled on the still fresh bullet wound. Cautiously running his hands over it. He mentally cursed himself for not contacting Olivia as soon as Felix suggested it. But then, that wouldn't have really done much, he was still in Turkey and she in London. Yet the guilt was eating away at him, due to his stubbornness he had refused to call her. Now there was a chance he could have lost her for good.

A world without Olivia was one he didn't think he could live in. He needed her in his life, more so than ever, he couldn't lose her. He didn't think his heart would be able to take the loss of the woman who had stood by him through thick and thin. When everyone was against him, it was Olivia who had come to his defense on one or more occasion. She had always believed in him, except until she told his counterpart to take that damn shot.

His eyes widened in realisation, as he sat himself down on the bed thinking about the events before and after he was shot. He should have realised it bloody sooner. It may not have been Olivia, but rather Barbara that ordered 007 to take the shot. He had immediately jumped to the obvious conclusion and there was a high possibility that it was the wrong one.

"Everything is all set brother, you should be back in London by late afternoon."

Bond turned to look at Felix giving him a grateful look. "Thank you Felix."

"She'll be fine James. She seems like a tough woman your boss."

He couldn't help but give a small smile at Felix's remark. "You have no idea." He stood up and put on his jacket.

"Just check in with me when you land and keep me updated. And for God sake brother, make sure you get that shoulder looked at."

"You can count on it Felix." Bond promised.

"Good, now let's get you back to London and to your woman."

"She's not. I'm her agent and a blunt instrument nothing more."

Felix raised an eyebrow not believing a word of it. "If you say so brother."

Bond followed after Felix as they left the beach house and towards Felix's car that would take him to the plane that was waiting. He liked the sound of Olivia being his woman, but It would never happen. Hell, he didn't even know if she was still alive. He had never felt this helpless since Vesper, even then it was not the same. Yes, he had cared for her, but that was before he knew about her betrayal. After he has chased down Green and got the required information about Quantum, Vesper was nothing more than a memory.

He thought he had loved her, and he did in a way, but he came to realise it was more of an infatuation of what he wanted with another woman, who just happened to be his boss. Now he was facing a similar situation, with the possibility that he had lost her.

Getting in the car, Felix started the car and started the drive to the airport. As he looked out the passenger window, he thought she would be safe at headquarters, but it turned out that wasn't the case. There was a part of him that wanted to have a relationship with Olivia no doubt about it, but he had also wanted to keep her at arm's length. Partly due to the majority of the women he got close to, eventually end up dead thanks to the _'Bond Effect'_ as he had decided to call it. Even though he had kept her at arm's length, it seemed that fate had other ideas to try and take Olivia from him.

He could feel Felix's eyes on him every so often, probably in concern. He mentally vowed that once he knew about news on Olivia, he would find the person who carried out the attack, authorised or not. They weren't going to get away with it. If he lost his job and double-0 status so be it. The only person he cared about in this whole situation was Olivia. The rest of the world be damned.

/*\*/*\

**Outside SIS Headquarters ~ London**

Barbara saw the disbelief on Tanner's face as he answered the call, wondering who it was on the other end. At his simple answer of yes, she had an idea of who it must have been. As he hung up the call, he looked at Barbara still trying to process what just happened.

"Who was it Tanner?" She asked waiting with bated breath for his answer.

"Bond."

"Thank God, he's alive. That's something at least." She replied with relief in her voice.

Feeling the hope rise in her chest, she just prayed Olivia and her Bond was all right. She didn't want to see the reaction Bond would have if they had to tell him Olivia didn't make it. She didn't know what she would do herself if she lost 007. He may be an insufferable bugger, but he had become a part of her life in a strange way. She couldn't imagine a day at the office without him. It was then that she felt everything Olivia must have felt when 007 had told them Bond had been shot and possibly dead. She was thankful that now wasn't the case. But now it seemed, 007 and Olivia may be. She didn't think this day could get any worse under the circumstances.

"Quite, now we just need Olivia and 007 to be alive as well."

"Here's hoping." Barbara agreed as she looked back up at the building. What was once Olivia's office was now nothing more than a burning gaping hole. There was a chance that the explosion went off before they had reached the office, but Barbara had a feeling it wasn't the case. The thought itself worried her.

"Are you both still sure you want me to take you?" The officer asked them, as they had yet to move.

"Yes." Barbara firmly answered once the officer had broken her out of her thoughts.

"Very well, both of you follow me."

Tanner and Barbara followed after the officer, trying not to show their nervousness. She still had a job to do, even if it was officially Olivia's. She couldn't afford to fall apart now, she needed to remain calm and get a handle on the situation, which was going to be easier said than done as they took in the surrounding area that was now pandemonium.

The officers who were already at the scene were trying to keep people calm who had got out their cars asking what was going on. As they walked further towards the building the sound of sirens filled the area as more police, followed by fire and ambulance services came into view.

"Tanner, I need you to contact MI5. No doubt they will be aware of the situation. Until we gather more information, it's officially their jurisdiction. Whatever evidence they find, we will go from there. There may be a chance that this could be linked to the server hack that recently happened. All of this has no doubt been planned for sometime."

"Do you think this is a warning or a message?"

"Most likely both Tanner. It's now safe to assume that this attack is personal, and the only person who holds the answers is currently in the very building that was just blown up. Olivia may be our only chance in helping us piece together who we are dealing with, because I have a feeling this attack is only the first of many."

"So, if it's someone after Olivia, they are likely out for revenge." Tanner concluded.

"Yes, and we know how these revenge situations usually turn out. We either capture and kill them..."

"Or they kill their intended target, which in this case is, Olivia." Tanner stated, looking towards Barbara seeing her give a faint nod in agreement.

"It seems Mallory and those other bureaucratic bastards will be pleased." Barbara told him bitterly.

"Not quite. Firstly, Olivia may still be alive, and secondly, until we know for definite, we have you." Tanner stated the obvious causing Barbara to stop in her tracks.

"Me? Tanner I have my own MI6 to run."

"Do you want Mallory to get Olivia's job?" Tanner challenged her watching as she thought over his words. "Someone will need to cover for her..."

"For how long Tanner? I can't stay here, this isn't where I belong."

"No, it isn't." Tanner conceded. "But you and Olivia are alike. You only need to be in charge until Olivia is well enough."

Barbara narrowed her eyes, "And if she isn't?"

"She will be..."

"How can you be so sure Tanner?" Barbara asked skeptical.

"Your 007 is with her. She may not be his boss, but if he is anything like our Bond, his loyalty is to you. He'll make sure she gets out alive."

Barbara's face softened, "I hope you're right Tanner. Now you had best make that call."

"Of course Ma'am."

They continued to walk as she listened to Tanner on his mobile. She didn't know what to think, If it ever came down to it, she couldn't see herself living here. It wasn't her world. It was Olivia's, but she also knew she didn't want Mallory to get her job. Not by a long shot. No matter the outcome, she knew she would have to make a decision on whether to leave or to stay.

She was torn. She could just leave once Q had managed to find a way to send her and 007 back. After all, the situation had nothing to do with her, yet she knew it was still her duty to ensure that this country remained safe. She had meant what she said to Mallory, she would leave when the job is done. No matter how long it takes, she would see this through to the end.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

...

**Inside MI6**

007 let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when he felt the reassuring thump of Olivia's pulse against his fingertips. It was slower and irregular than he would have liked, but it was there that was all that mattered.

"Olivia." He called out softly to her, hoping to be able to get her to wake.

Looking down towards her legs, he let out a curse at seeing the twisted metal and concrete covering the lower part of her body. He couldn't risk moving any of it in case it would cause more damage to any injuries she may have.

Looking back up towards her face, he reached out and ran his fingers through her dust covered hair. He hoped help would come soon. He wanted to get her out of here as quickly as possible.

"You can't give up Olivia. I won't let you." He waited for any sign she had heard him, but she remained still.

He was relieved Barbara wasn't in the building when the explosion happened. It was hard enough seeing a woman identical to his boss unconscious and possibly injured, never mind his actual boss in Olivia's place. He wished it was neither. Yet, here they were. He has never felt useless as he did in this moment. He should have protected her better.

"We are going to get out of this mess. I promise."

He looked around for any sign of a rescue team, but there was no one in sight. Looking back down at Olivia, he took one of her hands in his, in the hope of letting her know that she wasn't alone.

/*\*/*\

The police officer led Tanner and Barbara to the side of the building. They saw personnel running from the building and to safety, while some others were being treated by the paramedics. Barbara tried to look for the familiar faces of 007 and Olivia, amongst the crowd of people, but so far they were nowhere in sight. She felt a foreboding feeling that they hadn't made it out before the explosion occurred.

"They'll be fine, Barbara. They'll get out alive." Tanner tried to reassure her.

However, to Barbara they were just empty words. Until she saw them both alive with her own eyes, it would only be then that she would believe him.

"What the bloody hell is taking them so long?" She looked at the group of paramedics and fire fighters talking in a group, having not yet started to enter the building.

"They are probably discussing how to handle the operation. I know that you're frustrated. But give them time."

"Time is something 007 and Olivia may not have, Tanner!" She looked up at him. "You of all people should know this."

He knew all too well that the quicker they got them out of the building, the higher chance they would have of getting out alive. He was just as frustrated as Barbara about the whole situation, he could only imagine how Bond must be feeling. He hadn't heard from him since he had informed him that Olivia was in the building. At least he was alive, that had to count for something. He couldn't help but think that it would be ironic if their situations were now reversed. Bond would be alive and Olivia could be dead. Tanner didn't want to know how Bond would take the news if that were the case.

Bond was always close to Olivia in some way or another. He never questioned the nature of their relationship. After all it was none of his business. Nevertheless, that didn't stop him noticing small things now and again between them. The small looks they would share with each other, or how close Bond would stand next to her whenever they were in the same room. He doubted Olivia or Bond was aware of what they felt for each other, but there was something. He just didn't know what it was.

The sound of Tanner's phone ringing caused him to break out of his thoughts, as he quickly answered the call.

"Tanner."

_"Is there any news?"_ Bond asked urgently.

"Nothing yet. The emergency services haven't entered the building."

_"What the bloody hell are they waiting for!? An invitation?!"_

Tanner gave a sideways glance at Barbara noticing her attention was still on the group of paramedics and firefighters no doubt waiting for them to do their job.

"Where are you, Bond?"

_"On my way to catch a flight back to London. How's Barbara?"_

"Frustrated... and annoyed like you. Though her meeting with Mallory earlier probably didn't help her mood any."

_"Who the hell is Mallory? And why did she have an appointment with him?"_

"He's the new chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee and could well be your new boss in the future."

_"What do you mean new boss? What aren't you telling me, Tanner?"_

"Due to the hard drive incident, they have suggested that she should take voluntary retirement with full honours."

_"So, basically they are firing her! They have been trying to get her out of the picture for years, Tanner. And this is as good excuse as any to make sure it happens."_

"I couldn't agree more Bond. They don't know about the incident that happened in Q branch, if they find out…

_"I know. Which is why we will need to make sure that doesn't happen! We don't need to give them any more ammunition against her."_

Tanner didn't miss the defensive tone in Bond's voice. He had no doubt he would make sure, that Olivia still had her job by the end of the year. However, the way Bond would go about that to ensure it was the case worried him slightly.

"I agree, but there is something I want to know Bond... Why didn't you call her to let her know that you were alive?"

_"Felix did suggest it, but I was angry that she never let me finish the job."_

"Bond, you do realise it wasn't Olivia who initiated those orders, don't you?"

_"I do now. Look I have to go. I'll call you when I arrive back in London. Take care of her for me until I return."_

Tanner hung up the call and pocked his phone. He was puzzling over Bond's words wondering who he was referring to. He assumed it was Olivia, but it could have been Barbara. It was doubtful it was the latter. Bond hardly knew Barbara, but he guessed he could keep a close eye on both of them.

"I take it Bond has finally caught on then." Barbara looked up at him, having listened in on Tanner's side of the conversation.

"Eventually. He's catching a flight back to London."

"Good, let's hope they get Olivia and 007 out before he arrives." She looked back over at the group seeing the firemen start to head into the building. "It's about bloody time," she muttered under her breath.

Barbara watched them until they were out of sight. "We need to find a way of hearing what is taking place in there, Tanner. Is there any way you can access their radio transmissions from your laptop?"

"I can try Ma'am, but I can't guarantee it will work."

"Try it anyway. I would rather we find out the outcome before they bring out their bodies." Barbara replied, hoping that there was a possibility that he could do what she had asked.

/*\*/*\

**Inside MI6**

007 continued to speak to Olivia in the hopes that she would at least show some sign of movement. He didn't know how long had passed since the explosion. It couldn't have been long, even if it did feel as though they had been stuck here for hours.

As the minutes wore on, his worry for Olivia increased. Trying to take his mind off the worst case scenario, his mind once again drifted towards Barbara, wondering how she was currently taking the news. Would she be worrying? Or acting indifferent to the full situation? Barbara was never one to show her emotions, especially when she had spoken to him when he was recovering from his torture by General Moon in North Korea. Yet, he wondered why she had agreed to trade Zao for him. Was it to ensure that he didn't tell them any of MI6's secrets? Or was there another motive behind it that she refused to tell him? He had always meant to ask her. He just never got round to it. If he made it out of here- he would ask her. The chances of getting a direct answer from her would be slim, but that wouldn't stop him from asking.

A weak groan caused him to come out of his thoughts as he looked down at Olivia and gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

"Olivia... Open your eyes for me."

He heard her cough, and her eyes flutter, before they narrowly opened.

"James…" she weakly asked trying to move, causing a whimper to escape.

"Don't try to move." He softly told her. "I'm here."

"I can't feel my legs."

He heard the worry in her voice and tried to hide his own concern at her statement as he tried to comfort her.

"That's because there is rubble covering them." He hoped it would be enough to lessen her worry.

"What about… the other agents?"

"I don't know. I passed a body when I was looking for you. Other than that…" He trailed off seeing her eyes closing. "Olivia... You need to stay awake for me."

"Is that an order?"

"Do I have to make it one?" He challenged.

She didn't answer him, and decided to voice the question that she had wanted to ask since she had woken to hear him next to her.

"Why are you still here?"

"I think that answer is obvious." He told her softly. "I meant what I said to you yesterday, Olivia. "I won't leave you."

She didn't say anything, other than tighten her grip on his hand.

"Can you move some of the rubble?"

He looked down towards the twisted metal and concrete that was burying the lower half of her body sticking by his earlier thoughts that he couldn't risk moving it.

"I'd rather not chance it, Olivia."

"So… we're stuck here." She breathlessly stated.

"For the time being."

"You know… I find it ironic, that the committee wants me to retire. When it looks like they will get rid of me… by a quicker means."

"Don't… We are going to get out of here."

No sooner had the words left his mouth, there was a rumbling above him. Looking up, he saw the remaining structure of the ceiling give way. Shielding the rest of Olivia's body with his own. The feel of the concrete covering him and Olivia's weak voice was the last thing he knew before darkness surrounded him.

/*\*/*\

The rescue service moved through the building, checking each floor to ensure there were no personnel still in each of the offices. The lower floors appeared to be untouched, but as they gradually approached the top floor, the smoke became thicker causing them to tread more carefully.

Deciding they would be quicker splitting up. One group continued up to M's office, while the other group helped the people shouting for help in the surrounding offices.

As the group reached the corridor towards M's office, they stopped in their tracks and looked around the surrounding area that was covered in glass, concrete and debris.

"First sign of collapse, you find cover. Understand?" He ordered his men.

The men gave a nod in acknowledgment, as they walked through the corridor. The surrounding silence not sitting well with any of them. As they were about to turn the corner, they felt a tremor as all men stood still waiting for it to pass.

After a few seconds, they continued on with their task. As they entered what was left of the area to M's office, they knew the chances of finding anyone alive would be slim. The area looked like it could collapse at any given moment.

As the search continued, they had come across six bodies who were all deceased. They hoped to at least find some survivors by now, but they had found none so far.

It was another ten minutes into the search, when one of the men saw a hand under a pile of concrete. Calling out to the others, he hurried over and kneeled down, realising the hand appeared to be a females. Pulling off one of his protective gloves, he reached out his hand praying there was a pulse.

When there was no familiar beat under his finger tips. He looked up at his chief and shook his head, watching as he radioed it in.

"We have one deceased female and six agents. So far… no other survivors."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Barbara and Tanner made their way back to the car and quickly got inside. Picking up the laptop, he tried to access the radio transmission of the fire fighters who were inside the building.

"Any luck?" Barbara asked urgently looking at the screen.

"Give me a few moments." He continued to quickly type away on the keyboard.

"What is this, Tanner?" She looked at the programme on the computer monitor, having never seen anything like it before.

"Let's just say, if MI5 find out about this, I will be looking for a new job… shit."

"What?" She asked looking up at Tanner, who was currently pulling out his phone. "Who are you calling?"

"Q." Tanner informed her as held the phone to his ear. "Come on, Q."

It took five rings before he finally heard the call being answered.

_"__Tanner… Where's M?"_

"I'll explain later. Where are you?"

_"__At the east side of Vauxhall Bridge. Why, where are you?"_

"Currently sitting in M's car in the middle of the bridge. Can you make your way to us?"

_"__I can try." _

"Don't try, Q. Push your way through if needs be. Olivia, and 007 are still in the building. We need to know what's going on In there!"

_"__Christ, give me a few minutes." _

"Oh and Q, try to be quick."

Tanner ended the call and looked back at his laptop monitor that was now showing a log in screen.

"What exactly is this programme, Tanner?"

"It's a constant surveillance program that has been developed by MI5 to infiltrate known terrorist organisations, without the need of agents. If we can gain access, it will allow us to listen into any telephone call, any radio frequencies, allowing us to gather some insight of what is currently happening inside the building."

"You said you could lose your job, Tanner. Why are they not allowing MI6 to use it? Surely we can benefit from it as much as they can?"

"I'm not too sure Ma'am. The actual programme itself is still in it's development stage. It could take another two years before it is fully operational."

"Then how do you know about it?" Barbara narrowed her eyes, "and does Olivia know about this?"

"The programme has been brought up on more than one occasion at Olivia's meetings with the minister, and the director of MI5. They are thinking of closing down the double 0 pogramme. They believe that it is irrelevant in this day and age. Olivia, has tried to make them see sense on the matter, but they won't listen."

"So, let me get this straight. MI5 and the minister, want to replace agents with a computer programme? Over my dead body! Are they bloody delusional? To disband the double 0 programme would only end in disaster. What if the programme fails? Better yet, what makes them think that terrorists won't be able to bypass this surveillance. Then what? We will just be as in the dark about their activities, the same as what we are now."

"We know." Tanner agreed, "Olivia, more or less told them the same thing, but they refused to listen."

"Of course they did." She muttered sarcastically, starting to hate this world more and more. "Does, Bond know about this programme?"

"No. Not that I'm aware of. The same goes for all the other double 0 agents. MI5 is keeping this low key, until they know it will be a success."

"Of course they are." She tried to refrain from rolling her eyes. "I'm slowly starting to wish I never suggested that they take over the investigation for the time being."

The sound of the car door opening caused them both to turn, only to see Q standing outside looking ruffled.

"What do you need?" The quartermaster asked getting down to business.

"We need to gain access to MI5's new surveillance network. Can you bypass their firewalls?"

"Hold on. What new surveillance network?" Q frowned not liking where this was going.

"That's not important at the moment! Just answer Tanner's question. Can you bypass the firewalls?!"

"I can try, but you do realise if we are caught, it could be the end of all of out careers"

"You can either do it, or you can't Q. But my agent is in there along with your boss! Now what's more important, your career or their lives?"

Q tried not to flinch at Barbara's tone, knowing she had a valid point.

"All right, give me the laptop."

Tanner handed it over to him, as Q placed it on top of the car and quickly tried to bypass the firewalls, giving a triumphant smile when he was in.

"What is it I'm looking for?"

"Try and tap into the radio transmitters of the fire fighters in the building, Q. We need to know what's happening!"

"Give me two ticks… got it." Picking up the laptop, he handed it back to Tanner, who turned up the volume, hearing static before a voice filtered through the laptop's speakers.

_"__We have one deceased female and six agents. So far… no other survivors." _

"It's not them. It can't be them." Barbara murmured in disbelief, refusing to accept what she had just heard.

Looking towards the destroyed building, she wondered how she had lost one of her best agents in under twenty-four hours, when he had survived much worse in their own world. Then there was Olivia. Christ she didn't want to be the one that told Bond the news, but she was still the boss, even if she wasn't Olivia.

"What are your orders, Ma'am?" Tanner asked softly, just as shocked at the news. He had always thought, Olivia as being indestructible, but it seemed she was just as human as everyone else. There may still be a chance that she was still alive, and the female wasn't her. It was a small chance, but it was better than losing all hope.

"We find out who did this, by any means necessary." Tanner turned to look at the two men. "Q try and access the CCTV cameras from earlier, I want a log of everyone who entered and left that building last night between 9pm right up until the time of the explosion."

"Of course, Ma'am. It may take some time, to access the footage."

"Do what you can, Q. We need something to go on. Whoever, was responsible for this, we'll find them." She turned and stared back towards the building with narrowed eyes. "And when we do, God help them."

/*\*/*\

Inside MI6, the firefighters continued to search for any survivors among the chaos, only to come across more dead bodies. It would be a rescue mission, but it seemed they would be recovering the bodies of the dead rather than the living.

"What are your orders?"

The man in question looked around at the carnage before them, "We do another sweep of the floor. I want to make sure we have covered every possible area in case we may have missed anyone, or anything."

"Understood, Chief."

Looking around, he restarted the painstakingly slow task of trying to look for survivors. It was moments like this, that he really hated his job.

Seeing the sky from the gaping hole at the front of the building, he made his way around and back out towards the corridor. Looking to his left, he noticed a pile of rubble, and decided to make his way over to it, dreading to see what he would find.

Shining his flashlight, he started to remove some of the lose rubble and debris that was on top. With each piece he removed, he was met with more concrete and plaster, making him wonder if it was indeed, just a pile of rubble.

"I need some assistance over here."

It wasn't long before two of the firefighters were standing next to him and were looking down at the pile of rubble.

"Help me shift some of this. Start with the top, and we make our way down."

"Was there a sign letting you know if anyone was under here?" The firefighter to his left asked being mindful of what he was lifting.

"No, but I'm not ruling out any area for survivors, Dawson."

"Chief… I think I've found something."

The Chief and Dawson flashed their flashlight to where McBride was quickly removing the rubble, revealing an arm that was attached to a body.

"Christ." His Chief muttered, as the two men worked faster, removing what rubble they could to free whoever it was trapped underneath.

As more of the rubble was removed, it slowly started to reveal that there was not only one, but two bodies underneath, unmoving.

"Are they alive?" Dawson asked McBride, who removed his glove feeling for a pulse on the man's wrist.

"He's alive." McBride looked up at them both. "His pulse seems steady."

"And the woman?"

McBride reached under for the woman's wrist, noticing how the man and the woman's hands were entwined. He could only imagine what they must have been feeling. Reaching out for the woman's wrist, he prayed to feel the steady beat under his fingertips. It was a few seconds, before he felt the irregular faint thump, which caused him to give a sigh in relief.

"She's alive, but her pulse is slow. We need to get her out of here."

Dawson continued to remove the rubble further down their bodies, only to stop when he saw the twisted metal and concrete that was covering the woman's legs. It seemed the man had tried to protect her from the second collapse, which probably saved her life.

"We may have a problem."

"What sort of problem?" His Chief asked walking over to his location, and looked down, feeling the blood drain from his face. "Shit."

"Group two, do you copy." He asked through his radio.

_"__We read you, Chief. Over." _

"I need you to alert the paramedics and get them in here. Make sure they are geared up and inform them that we have found two causalities. One is a male in his late thirties, and one female in her seventies. Both unconscious. The woman is trapped, and in serious, if not critical condition. Bring what rescue equipment we have in the truck, we are going to need it."

_"__Right away, Chief." _

He let go of his radio, and looked more closely at the concrete that was covering the woman's legs. It would take them some time, to get her free, not knowing what injuries she had underneath. But it may be time that she didn't have.

"Do we wait?" Dawson asked knowing time was of the essence.

"We have to, we can't risk moving either of them until the paramedics get here."

"It may be time that she doesn't have." Dawson replied, inspecting the concrete and metal more closely.

"How is she doing, McBride?"

"Still unresponsive, but her pulse is getting weaker." He told his Chief in a calm voice.

Looking back down at the causalities, he made his decision.

"Lennox, Smith and Peters can you read me?"

_"__Loud and clear, Chief."_

"What is your situation?"

_"__Area is clear." _

"Okay, I need the three of you back to the main office area. We have two survivors, one male and female. The female is trapped and in bad condition. Paramedics and rescue equipment is on it's way, but it may be time she doesn't have. We are going to try and move what we can, but I need everyone of you on board. This is our first priority."

"Understood, Chief. We are on our way back to your location."

He narrowed his eyes, determined to get both of them out of here alive. They had already lost seven people here today he wasn't going to add anymore to the list.

/*\*/*\

Standing by the car, Tanner, kept a watchful eye on Barbara, who was now standing next to the bridge's barrier, while staring out into the distance towards Westminster. She hadn't uttered another word on what occurred and decided to give her some space, while she tried to process the news. The two men didn't know what words of comfort they could give her. They were all mourning over the loss of someone who they were close to. Even though, Q hadn't known Olivia long, the younger man had respected her.

No one knew of the incident in Q's lab, but Tanner didn't know how long that news would last. If they found out, chances are they would get Q to try and send Barbara, back to her own world. If that was the case, it would leave a job opening for a new head of SIS and they couldn't allow that to happen. He refused to let one of the ministers loyal lap dogs undertake Olivia's position. One; because he didn't trust any of them, and two the job was rightfully hers. If it hadn't been for Olivia's hard work over the seventeen years she had been head of SIS, MI6 wouldn't be what it is today. Yet, the minister was still determined to shutdown the double 0 programme.

Tanner had never met a more insufferable man. He even put Bond to shame and that was saying something. If it was between dealing with the minister or Bond, he would pick the egotistical agent any day of the week. And he knew Olivia felt the same. The thought of the older woman, made Tanner all that more determined to bring the people responsible to justice.

Getting back in the car, he looked at Q's computer monitor that was now covered in static. "How are you getting on accessing that footage, Q?"

"Truthfully, not good. There is only so much I can do from here." Q looked up from the laptop and turned his attention to Tanner.

"I'll speak with Barbara on setting up new headquarters in the Old Vic tunnels under Waterloo Station. They should be equipped with everything we need to run operations as normal, at least until we can find a more permanent solution. Depending on the damage, chances are MI6 will be out of commission for quite sometime."

"I was afraid of that." Q frowned thinking about all his work and gadgets that were still in his lab.

"Once we have clearance that the building is safe, Q. I'll speak with Barbara to have a team recover everything that is salvageable from the building." Tanner stated knowing what was bothering the younger man. "And I'm sure your gadgets will still be standing as well."

Q hung his head low, suddenly finding the laptop monitor fascinating. Was he really that predictable?

"Do you think she will be all right?" He decided to change the subject, finding their silence slightly unnerving.

"I don't know, Q." Tanner whispered, "we can only hope."

Q watched as the man got out of the car, "Where are you going?"

"To speak with Barbara. In the meantime, I want you to keep trying to access that footage, Q."

"Understood, Tanner." Q watched from the car window as Tanner walked over to Barbara and stood beside her. "Not that it will do much good." He muttered to himself.

Starting to get back to work, he looked over at Tanner's laptop, noticing they were still logged into MI5's surveillance programme. He guessed it couldn't hurt to listen, on what was happening inside the building, while he worked.

Turning up the volume, he heard the roar of white noise penetrate through the speakers once more, as he tried to find the right channel.

/*\*/*\

Tanner, stood next to Barbara trying to find the right words to say to her. With Olivia, it was easier as he had worked with her for years. Where as Barbara, he had only known her for a few days at most.

"How's Q getting on with the CCTV footage?" Barbara broke the silence.

"That's what I sort of wanted to speak to you about, Ma'am. With MI6 out of commission we will need new headquarters."

"Where do you suggest, Tanner? You know this world better than myself." She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"I was thinking the Old Vic Tunnels..."

"Under Waterloo Station?"

"Yes. They haven't been used in years, but they should provide us with what we need."

Barbara gave a faint smile, remembering having used the same tunnels in her own world, when she needed to meet with 007 about the Zao incident. Tanner was right, they were equipped with everything they would need, but she doubted they would be exactly the same as the ones she remembered.

"Very well, we will set up headquarters there. Was there anything else, Tanner?"

"We need to retrieve any files and Intel that is salvageable from the building, as well as Q's gadgets."

Barbara narrowed her eyes, "All right, but that will have to wait until we get the all clear to enter the building. Though, I would prefer to retrieve everything that is ours, before MI5 appear on the scene."

"I understand, Ma'am." Tanner, kept looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"Why don't you just ask me what's bothering you, Tanner, instead of looking at me as if I am going to break."

"I apologise, Ma'am."

"I don't need or want your apologies, Tanner." She turned around to face him with her steely blue eyes staring hard into his own. "I just want us to find whoever did this."

"And we will, I just want to make sure you will be all right."

Her eyes softened slightly at hearing the concern in his voice. He wasn't so different from her own Chief of Staff. It made her wonder if her own Tanner was looking into their disappearance, or if he even knew if they were gone. She had no way of contacting her world to let them know that she was okay. She just wish she could say the same about 007.

After everything he had survived through the years, she had finally lost him. She never thought this day would come, but yet it had. It was almost surreal to try and process all the information.

"I'll be fine, Tanner… eventually. It will just take some time to get used to- him not being here."

"I know what you mean." Tanner agreed wistfully, as he looked down into the murky waters of the Thames.

"We're survivors, Mr Tanner." She placed a hand on his arm, "we'll get through this."

He looked back towards her with a sad smile and placed a hand over hers, hoping to return the same comfort she was giving him.

The sound of hurried footsteps approaching them from behind caused their hands to fall, as they turned and saw Q with a look of excitement on his face.

"What is it, Q?" Barbara asked trying to keep the annoyance from her voice.

"There alive!"

"What?" Tanner whispered in disbelief, not sure he was hearing him right.

"They've found two bodies, a male in his late thirties, and one female in her seventies."

"Do you know of their condition?" Barbara asked hopeful.

"Both are unconscious, but the woman is in critical condition." Q looked over at Tanner, in worry. "She is trapped under some concrete and metal, they are going to try and move it to get her free, but the way they were talking it seemed time wasn't on their side."

"Does she have a chance, Q?"

"I don't know, they are waiting for the paramedics. Until they arrive, I'm afraid that's all we have to go on."

"A fat load of good that is!"

Q and Barbara watched as Tanner made his way back to the car, not even giving them a second glance.

"I'll go and speak with him, Q. Give us a few minutes."

"Of course, Ma'am."

Giving Q a reassuring smile, she followed after Tanner and took a seat in the car next to him.

"Tanner, I know you are upset, but I need you to think rationally. If we are ever to find out who did this, I need to know that whatever personal feelings you have for Olivia, will not interfere. I need everyone on board and focused. We can't afford anymore slip ups."

He knew Barbara was right, he needed to keep his mind focused on his job. There was nothing he could do for Olivia. That was now up to the paramedics and the fire fighters inside the building. He just hoped they could save her.

"She's a strong woman, and has made it this far, I doubt she will give up now."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Do you really need me to answer that question, Tanner?"

"Probably not." He replied, giving her her a lopsided smile.

"Good. Now I had best go and tell Q it's safe to approach. The poor man didn't know what to do when you stormed off."

"I'm not usually one for losing my temper, shall we say."

"No, I thought as much." Barbara smirked.

"When he comes back over, I'll apologise."

"I wouldn't. We all need to lose control at some point Tanner. It makes us human." Barbara told him just before getting out of the car.

Tanner watched her go, not knowing what to make of her statement. The woman was an enigma, even more so than, Olivia. It amused and infuriated him at the same time. Just when he thought he was starting to understand her, she goes and throws him out of the loop. He shouldn't be surprised really. He had worked with Olivia for years and she still managed to surprise him on occasion.

Through their time working together, himself and Olivia, had developed a friendship of sorts over the years. It was only then that he really started to see the real person behind her M persona. You had M who was known as the heartless bitch of MI6, then you had Olivia, who was charming, witty, and had a dry sense of humour on occasion. It was a side many didn't get to see, and he felt privileged that he was one of the few whom she trusted other than Bond, to see her as normal human being without the weight of the world in her shoulders.

He had always admired and respected her. It was probably one of the reasons why they had a good working relationship. It was why he wasn't ready to lose her just yet. Tapping his fingers on his knee, he continued to listen to the voices of the fire fighters coming from his laptop.

He had no idea what they were planning. But whatever it was, he just prayed that it was enough to bring Olivia, and 007 out of that building alive.


End file.
